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

  1. A tenant 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-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is fastidious. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the property.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find renters who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that troublesome renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out tardy 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 assess applicants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff at the start, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a lies, we will expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has a problem 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 when every statement initially is promising we still vet each applicant with a complete background check. Every person 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 Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as rental 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 need understand more about this area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who hopes to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles data regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, and some interesting facts that you may not know.  Also, our Guide features quite a few of the aspects of life in Northern Virginia.  Naturally, all of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but rental investors and renters will probably also find these tools to be somewhat sobering.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt can help you achieve your real estate goals.

"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