Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

In Devonshire, our management staff prefers to work with good renters. Here are some of the traits we expect.

1. A renter pays the rent when due every time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
2. A renter is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
3. A tenant is neat. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
4. A renter does not break the property or its systems.
5. A renter is courteous and easy to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask to upgrade functioning systems. A renter doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A tenant doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
9. A renter does not smoke in the property.
10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that unreasonable renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out bad tenants.