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

In Westbriar, our team prefers to work with dependable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

1. A tenant 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 has integrity. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A renter is neat. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
4. A tenant does not misuse systems.
5. A renter is courteous and easy to work with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
7. A tenant complains when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause problems 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 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 rental.
10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor 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 renters.