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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 renters

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

  1. A renter 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 renter 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 tenant does not destroy the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask 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 renter does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the landlord 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 nose for sniffing out difficult tenants.

 

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 assess potential tenants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff at the beginning, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has troubles scrounging up money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential renter will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even if every statement initially is good we still vet every potential tenant with a full background check. Every applicant and occupant must submit 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 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 know more about the area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who needs to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as a couple of shocking facts that you might not be aware of.  And, our Guide features many of the assets of life in Northern Virginia.  Naturally, most of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but property owners and renters may also find the facts to be very sobering.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt
Broker 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