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

In Features, our management staff wants to deal with reasonable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

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-tenant or pet.
3. A tenant is neat. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
4. A tenant does not destroy systems.
5. A renter is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause head-aches for property managers.
8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand 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 home.
10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the property.

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