(703)765-0300

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, Nesbitt Realty wants to deal with reliable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  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 renter has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not destroy systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A renter reports problems at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask 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 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 rental term that is as long as the landlord 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 unreasonable tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out troublesome 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 track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us from the beginning, they will probably be rude as renters. If a lies, we will expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has difficulty finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have troubles while they are in the rental.

But even if every statement initially is promising we still vet every potential tenant with a complete 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 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 real estate investor 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 community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for everyone who hopes to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and nearby areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, and a couple of interesting facts that you may not know.  Not to mention, our Guide features some fundamentals of living in Northern Virginia.  Of course, most of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but property owners and tenants will probably also find these tools 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 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