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

In Signal_Hill_Carrs, our management staff wants to work with reasonable tenants. Here are a few 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 renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A renter is neat. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
4. A tenant does not break the property or its systems.
5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A renter understands 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 real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to upgrade functioning systems. A tenant doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A tenant doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the tenant 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 owner wants to rent the home.

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 bad renters.