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

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

What we look for in Northern Virginia tenants

In Northern Virginia, Nesbitt Realty wants to work with good renters. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant 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 renter is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is fastidious. A tenant does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to upgrade functioning systems. A tenant doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A tenant doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the home.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential renters based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff from the beginning, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has difficulty producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential tenant will have troubles during the lease.

But even if every appearance initially is good we still check the background of every potential tenant with a complete background check. Every person and occupant must provide a government-issue photo identification. From there, as property managers we start our vetting process.

How we protect the landlord’s interests in Northern Virginia:Nesbitt Realty is committed to Fair Housing

  1. We Check The Applicant’s Credit History
  2. We Investigate The Applicant’s Criminal History
  3. We Investigate The Applicant’s Rental History
  4. We Look For Internal Consistency In The Rental Application
  5. We Want To Know If The Applicant Can Afford The Rent

Northern Virginia Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as rental managers in Northern Virginia and the information which we have verified. Ultimately the property owner decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Do you need know more about our community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who wants to find out more about Northern Virginia and nearby areas.  The Guide to Real Estate has information regarding what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a few surprising facts that you might not know.  Not to mention, our Guide features some fundamentals of residing in Northern Virginia.  Naturally, all of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but landlords and renters should also find these resources to be somewhat edifying.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt is here when you need us.

"I am by nature a trusting person, but this business has taught me to verify every statement that a tenant makes. Scammers and bad tenants can sometimes give every appearance of being trustworthy and upright people. We never cut corners on background checks." ~ Will Nesbitt

Julie Nesbitt

Julie Nesbitt
Julie Nesbitt

 I like tenants that pay on time. Late paying tenants cause extra work and unnecessary stress for landlords and property managers. ~ Julie Nesbitt