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

In Reston, our team wants to work with good tenants. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

1. A renter 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 tenant is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A tenant is fastidious. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
4. A renter does not break the property.
5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant 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. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause head-aches for property managers.
8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand 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 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 renters 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.