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

In Riverwood, our management staff prefers to work with dependable tenants. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

1. A tenant pays the rent on time every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
2. A renter is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A renter is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
4. A tenant does not destroy the property or its systems.
5. A renter is courteous and nice to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
7. A renter reports problems when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause issues for property managers.
8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to replace 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
9. A renter does not smoke in the home.
10. A tenant is looking for a rental term 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 measure up to this standard? Experience has taught us that unreasonable tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out troublesome tenants.