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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 management staff wants to deal with reasonable renters. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  1. A renter 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 renter is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is fastidious. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not overwork the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask to replace 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter does not smoke in the property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the 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 ideal? 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 difficult 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 track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff from the beginning, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every appearance initially is promising we still check the background of each applicant with a complete background check. Every person 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 Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as property managers in Northern Virginia and the information which we have verified. Ultimately the property owner decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Do you need understand more about this local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who needs to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas.  The Guide to Real Estate includes data about what has sold and what is for sale, and many interesting facts that you may not be aware of.  Furthermore, our Guide spotlights quite a few of the aspects of life in Northern Virginia.  Of course, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but real estate investors and renters will probably also find this data to be somewhat useful.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Realtors in the Shenandoah Valley
Will and Julie on Woodstock Tower

"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 sold another!

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