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

In Reston, our management staff prefers to deal with reasonable renters. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

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 tenant is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A renter is fastidious. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
4. A tenant does not misuse 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 bother neighbors.
7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause issues for property managers.
8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask 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 tenant does not smoke in the property.
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 renter, but how do we find tenants who live up to this standard? 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 tardy tenants.