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

In Cook Inlet, our management staff likes to work with dependable renters. Here are some of the traits we expect.

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 renter is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
4. A renter does not damage the home.
5. A renter is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
7. A renter reports problems at appropriate times. 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 renter 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
9. A tenant does not smoke in the property.
10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who measure up to this ideal? 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 difficult renters.