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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 prefers to work with dependable renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. A tenant 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 tenant has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A renter does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the property or its systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords 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 demand to replace 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the home.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord 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 ideal? Experience has taught us that bad tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out tardy 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 assess applicants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us from the start, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a lies, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has a problem scrounging up certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have difficulty during the lease.

But even if every appearance initially is good we still vet every applicant with a full background check. Every applicant and occupant must provide 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 property owner 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.

Should you know more about our community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for anyone who wants to learn more about Northern Virginia and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as some interesting facts that you may not know.  Not to mention, our Guide features quite a few of the fundamentals of residing in Northern Virginia.  Of course, all of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants should also find these resources to be quite 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

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