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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 likes to work with reasonable renters. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  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 tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to upgrade functioning systems. A tenant doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A tenant doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find renters who measure up to this standard? Experience has taught us that difficult tenants 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 potential renters in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential renters based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us at the outset, they will probably be trying as renters. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has difficulty producing fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential renter will have problems during the lease.

But even when every action initially is promising we still check the background of each person with a complete background check. Every person and occupant must submit 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 reviewed we make a recommendation to the real estate investor 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 understand more about our area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who needs to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes information regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as a couple of compelling facts that you may not know.  And, our Guide has quite a few of the fundamentals of life in Northern Virginia.  Certainly, most of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants may also find this data to be quite enlightening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt
"We can help when you need us."

"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 and Will
Julie and Will Nesbitt pause from property management to take a quick picture.

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