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Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

What we look for in Northern Virginia renters

In Northern Virginia, our team wants to deal with dependable renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. A renter 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 has integrity. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is fastidious. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not destroy systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to work with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to upgrade 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 home.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who live up to this ideal? 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 tardy renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants 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 rude to our managers at the beginning, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has difficulty producing fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same person will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even if every action initially is promising we still check the background of every potential tenant with a full background check. Every applicant and occupant must submit 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 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 want understand more about our local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for anyone who wants to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and nearby areas.  The Guide to Real Estate includes information about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as many surprising facts that you may not be aware of.  In addition, our Guide highlights some aspects of living in Northern Virginia.  Naturally, most of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but owners and tenants should also find these tools to be somewhat 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 can help!

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