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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 team prefers to deal with good tenants. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant pays the rent on time every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A renter is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fastidious. A tenant does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not damage the property.
  5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors 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 tenant doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A renter doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the home.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the owner wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who live 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 difficult tenants.

 

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 applicants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers from the outset, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has difficulty finding money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have problems during the lease.

But even if every statement initially is good we still vet each potential renter with a complete background check. Every person 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 Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as rental 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 want know more about this local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who wants to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles data about what has sold and what is on the market, and a few shocking facts that you might not know.  Not to mention, our Guide features many of the fundamentals of life in Northern Virginia.  Yes, most of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but property owners and tenants will probably also find this data to be somewhat edifying.

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

Realtor 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