Purely business, why rent to pet owners? Is it that difficult to find decent tenants? [/quote]
I rent to pet owners because I am a pet owner myself, and I live in a rental. (yes, it is not logical, but I live in rental and own a rental…) I have owned the house since 2001, and have had a variety of tenants, some with dogs, and some without. The worst tenants had no dogs. On the lease, it was only 2 adults and a baby moving in, but as it turned out, they moved family members in, had domestic violence, paid the rent late, and were very damaging to the house.
If you don’t have a lot of money, and have a dog, your choices are to live in a nice small condo/apartment in a desireable area, walk your dog every day, deal with neighbors and adjoining walls, OR live in a less desireable neighborhood which gives you more space, washer/dryer, yard, etc.
In this particular case, the tenant is fantastic. She keeps clean, keeps up the property, does not have chaos by moving in other family members, etc. and pays the rent on time. And, I like her.