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

In Alexandria_house, our management staff likes to deal with dependable tenants. Here are some of the traits we expect.

1. A renter pays the rent when due every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
2. A renter is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
4. A renter does not overwork systems.
5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause issues for property managers.
8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to replace functioning systems. A renter doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A renter doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter 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 landlord wants to rent the property.

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 bad renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out difficult renters.