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

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

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 is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
4. A tenant does not misuse systems.
5. A renter is courteous and easy 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. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause head-aches for property managers.
8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to upgrade functioning systems. A tenant 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 renter does not smoke in the home.
10. A renter is looking for a lease 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 renters who measure up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that tardy tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out difficult tenants.