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

In Yorktown, our management staff prefers to work with reasonable renters. Here are some of the traits we look for.

1. A renter pays the rent on time every time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
2. A tenant is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
4. A tenant does not break the home.
5. A renter is courteous and easy to work with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
7. A tenant complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause issues for property managers.
8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to upgrade 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 tenant does not smoke in the property.
10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the rental.

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