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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 time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A tenant is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not damage the property.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to work with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to replace functioning systems. A renter 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 property.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the rental.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people 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 at the beginning, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a is caught fabricating facts, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has troubles scrounging up 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 promising we still check the background of every person with a full background check. Every potential renter 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 reviewed we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as rental 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.

Should you understand more about our area?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for everyone who wants to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides facts about what has sold and what is on the market, and a couple of compelling facts that you might not be aware of.  Also, our Guide highlights quite a few of the elements of living in Northern Virginia.  Definitely, most of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but owners and renters should also find the facts to be very edifying.

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

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