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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 likes to work with reasonable tenants. Here are some of the traits we expect.

  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 honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not misuse the home.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to get along with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause issues 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 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 tenant does not smoke in the home.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who measure up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that troublesome 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 rude to our staff at the start, they will probably be rude as renters. If a lies, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has a problem producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same person will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even when every statement initially is good we still vet every person with a full background check. Every potential renter 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 property owner 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.

Do you need know more about our area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for anyone who needs to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes data regarding what has sold and what is on the market, and some interesting facts that you may not know.  Not to mention, our Guide highlights some fundamentals of residing in Northern Virginia.  As a matter of course, all of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but property 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

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