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

In Stephenson, our management staff likes to deal with good tenants. Here are some of the traits we expect.

1. A tenant pays the rent on time every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
2. A renter is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A renter is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
4. A tenant does not overwork systems.
5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to work with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A tenant doesn't bother 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 complain 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 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 property.
10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the home.

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