Sugar Blossom

Finding the Ideal Tenant

Who Are the Best Tenants?

If you select only the best tenants, you will eliminate many other problems. This can include general upkeep of the rental unit, receiv­ing rent on time, and just plain getting along well with the tenant. In other words establishing a good tenant-landlord relationship.

You probably already know this, but it bears repeating. There are some people who, for one reason or another, simply don’t care to own their home. I suspect these people prefer living in an apartment or a rental unit so they don’t have to be bothered with mowing the grass, shoveling snow in the winter months, or tending to the various mainte­nance issues with home ownership. And a renter has no mortgage pay­ment. Those of us who are homeowners can certainly understand that.

And, of course, there are some people who simply can’t afford to own a home. That means there are and always will be certain numbers of people who are available to rent an apartment. How do we find those people and make sure we get the right ones?

I’ve got to admit it’s fairly easy for me to say, “select only the best tenants.” Everyone would like to do that. But that job, as a landlord, is not as simple as it might sound. I’m thoroughly convinced that it takes time and work to select the best. And let me add, the more screening you do, the better the tenant.

Just as important, make sure you don’t end up with an undesirable tenant. We’ll discuss the undesirable tenants and what this can lead to more thoroughly as we go through this text.

I know some landlords who just don’t take the time, and they often end up with the “slugs.” That, of course, is their business. I say, “Let them have the ‘questionable’ tenants.”

Profile of the Ideal Tenant

From my years of experience in the rental business, I’ve been able to compose a list of individuals or couples that I consider very acceptable and desirable as tenants. However, don’t totally rely on this list as your final decision. Depend more on the application for rent or lease, your personal interview, and that all-important credit report.

There is no secret list of good, better, or best tenants that I know of. I’m not sure that my list is adequate, and I know it’s not complete. But at least it’s a guide that can be a starter for you to consider as a poten­tial investor or present landlord.

Now, let’s get on with finding a list of potential best tenants.

Professional and Semiprofessional Medical Service People

I personally have always had good experience and have rated high on my list the following:

• Licensed practical nurses
• Registered nurses
• X-ray technicians
• Medical technicians
• Most health care personnel

On a couple of occasions I’ve had the opportunity to rent to a doc­tor (intern) who lived in our community. Most interns are single and look for a single-person apartment. This is usually good for, at the most, one or sometimes two years. As we all know, by the time the interns become full-fledged doctors, they can afford their own home, so the odds of getting a full-fledged doctor as a full-time tenant are minimal.

Educated, Intelligent, Considerate People

Most people working in the medical profession are fairly well edu­cated and intelligent enough to understand that when they live in an apartment complex, they must be considerate of the other people liv­ing in the same building. The nice thing about this group is that almost all medical people make a decent salary, so they can easily afford the rent.

In general I can say, in my case, that they have always been neat and clean and take good care of their living quarters. When their lease is expired the apartment is left in usually good condition, and that means it doesn’t take a great deal of cleaning and preparing for the next tenant. You can, naturally, expect some wear and tear, so it’s not out of the question that you might have to do some work, but there shouldn’t be any major overhauling.

Usually most of the above-mentioned tenants are single. Consequently they entertain conservatively. That’s not to say you want to overlook married couples. By all means, they can also be A-1 tenants.

With this category of people, I’ve found that you most likely won’t experience or deal with loud parties, loud music, or wild guests. These are irritants that you don’t want to handle.

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