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

In Sideburn, our team prefers to work with reliable renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

1. A tenant 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 tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
4. A renter does not overwork the home.
5. A renter is courteous and easy to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
7. A renter reports problems when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask to replace 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 home.
10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who measure up to this standard? Experience has taught us that bad tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out troublesome renters.