(703)765-0300

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 work with reasonable renters. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  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 has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant 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. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to replace 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 home.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that tardy tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out bad tenants.

 

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 judge applicants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff at the beginning, they will probably be rude as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has troubles producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have problems during the lease.

But even if every statement initially is good we still check the background of every potential renter with a complete background check. Every potential tenant 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 Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as property managers in Northern Virginia and the information that 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 need understand more about the community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who hopes to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles information about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a couple of compelling facts that you may not know.  Furthermore, our Guide spotlights some aspects of living in Northern Virginia.  Of course, most of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but owners and tenants may also find these tools to be quite edifying.

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

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