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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 tenants

In Northern Virginia, our management staff prefers to work with good tenants. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. A renter 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 renter is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not break the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A renter complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to replace functioning systems. A tenant 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 property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who live 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 unreasonable 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 judge potential renters based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us from the start, they will probably be rude as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has difficulty producing fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every action initially is promising we still check the background of each applicant with a complete background check. Every potential renter 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 owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Northern Virginia and the information which we have verified. Ultimately the owner decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Do you want know more about our community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who wants to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has information about what has sold and what is on the market, and many interesting facts that you may not know.  And, our Guide spotlights many of the aspects of living in Northern Virginia.  Of course, most of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but rental investors and tenants will also find these resources to be very sobering.

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

Will and Julie under the moon.
Nothing is better than family and friends.

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