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

In Raven Oaks, our management staff prefers to work with good tenants. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

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 honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A tenant is fastidious. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
4. A tenant does not damage systems.
5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
7. A renter complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause problems for property managers.
8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
9. A renter does not smoke in the rental.
10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the property.

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 nose for sniffing out difficult renters.