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

In Lake Front Royal, our management staff wants to work with reasonable renters. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

1. A renter pays the rent when due every time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
2. A tenant has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
3. A renter is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
4. A renter does not break the property.
5. A renter is courteous and easy to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to upgrade 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
9. A tenant does not smoke in the property.
10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the home.

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