(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, Nesbitt Realty likes to work with reliable tenants. Here are a few 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 tenant is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not destroy the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to work with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter reports problems when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A renter 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 renter 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 rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the owner wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who measure up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that troublesome 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 people based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff from the start, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has troubles producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same person will have troubles during the lease.

But even if every action initially is good we still check the background of each potential renter with a complete 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 complete we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as property managers in Northern Virginia and the information that 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 this local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for anyone who needs to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides data about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as many interesting facts that you may not know.  Furthermore, our Guide highlights many of the elements of life in Northern Virginia.  Yes, most of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but owners and tenants should also find these tools to be very informative.

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