In a perfect world tenants always pay their rent in advance, stay year after year and never come close to causing any wear and tear. In reality, the perfect tenant is all too difficult to come by.

If you're looking for new tenants or considering buying an investment property, the following profiles will help you determine which type of tenant best fits your needs.

University students

Whether it's your memories of the characters from the 1980's BBC comedy The Young Ones, or flashbacks to your university glory days, students have never rated highly among landlords as dream tenants. As tenants without a regular income, there's a greater chance that students will lapse on rent payments. If you do have reservations, try and get a feel for their finances, including a reference from their parents in case they do the bunk.

Also cap the number of student renters allowed in your property - restricting the number of people translates into less damage, parties and clean up costs. On a positive note, student rentals tend to roll over from student to student as one graduates and another commences their three-five year degree, meaning a reduced need to continually find new tenants to lease your property.

Backpackers and international students

Keep your guard up - backpackers and international students probably rate as the least desirable type of tenant. Strapped for cash, it's not at all uncommon for small apartments to sneakily house a cast of occupants. This accelerates wear and tear; if it's an apartment building also expect the neighbors to throw a few complaints your way regarding noise levels. The upside: they're traditionally a low-maintenance bunch and are less likely to demand five-star furnishings.

Young Professionals

Today's young professionals typically dislike the hassle of moving house and will have been through enough negative flatting experiences to know a good opening when they see one. These types of renters will probably value peripheral things like the quality of furniture and flashy white goods more so than any other renting demographic. So if you have some dusty old sofas and 1980s furnishing best to strip the place bare and rent it as unfurnished.

Families

Families score highly on areas such as reliability. They are also more likely to stay put for a while as children settle into schools and build friendships with neighbours. If you want to attract the family demographic you'll need to prepare your property to attract families. This means a properly fenced garden and secure gates so that children will be safe when playing outside. Families can also be accompanied by pets - not high on the wish-list for landlords! If you're prepared to accept pets factor regular carpet steam cleaning into their rental agreement.

Source: Plan Australia