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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, our team wants to work with reasonable tenants. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant pays the rent when due every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A tenant has integrity. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not misuse systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. Renters 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 renter doesn't ask to upgrade functioning systems. A tenant doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A renter doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find renters who measure up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that unreasonable renters 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 people based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our managers from the start, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has a problem producing fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential renter will have problems during the lease.

But even when every statement initially is good we still vet every potential renter with a full background check. Every potential tenant 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 real estate investor 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 area?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for anyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and nearby areas.  The Guide to Real Estate includes information about what has sold and what is for sale, and some shocking facts that you might not be aware of.  Not to mention, our Guide highlights some fundamentals of living in Northern Virginia.  Definitely, most of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but owners and renters will also find this data to be somewhat informative.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

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

Julie Nesbitt
Julie Nesbitt, a Realtor with experience in Northern Virginia

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