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

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

What we seek in Northern Virginia tenants

In Northern Virginia, our team likes to deal with reasonable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant pays the rent on time every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A tenant is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is neat. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not overwork the property or its systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A renter reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask to upgrade functioning systems. A renter 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 home.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that bad renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out tardy 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 judge applicants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our managers from the start, they will probably be rude as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same person will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every appearance initially is promising we still vet each person with a full background check. Every potential tenant and occupant must provide a government-issue photo identification. From there, as rental 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 owner based upon our experience as property managers in Northern Virginia and the information that we have verified. Ultimately the owner decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Do you want understand more about the community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who hopes to learn more about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides facts about what has sold and what is for sale, and a few compelling facts that you may not be aware of.  In addition, our Guide has many of the benefits of residing in Northern Virginia.  Of course, all of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but landlords and renters should also find this data to be somewhat edifying.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt

"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

Realtor 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