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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 work with dependable renters. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  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 tenant is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not overwork the property or its systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords 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 renter 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 tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the property owner 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 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 potential tenants in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential tenants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our managers at the beginning, they will probably be trying as renters. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has a problem scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same applicant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every appearance initially is good we still check the background of every applicant 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 Property 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 which we have verified. Ultimately the landlord 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 this community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who wants to learn more about Northern Virginia and nearby areas.  The Guide to Real Estate has facts about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as many surprising facts that you might not be aware of.  Furthermore, our Guide highlights many of the fundamentals of residing in Northern Virginia.  Yes, most of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but owners and renters might also find this data to be very useful.

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

Realtor 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