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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 Fairlington tenants

In Fairlington, our management staff likes to deal with good renters. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  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 tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the property or its systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to work with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains when appropriate. 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 tenant doesn't ask to upgrade 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 tenant does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who measure up to this standard? Experience has taught us that unreasonable renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out tardy renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential renters in Fairlington based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential renters based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff from the beginning, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has difficulty scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same applicant will have troubles during the lease.

But even when every statement initially is promising we still check the background of every potential tenant with a complete background check. Every potential tenant 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 Fairlington: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

Fairlington 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 property managers in Fairlington and the information which 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.

Should you know more about this area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for everyone who needs to learn more about Fairlington and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information regarding what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a few interesting facts that you may not be aware of.  In addition, our Guide has many of the benefits of life in Fairlington.  Definitely, all of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but real estate investors and renters might also find the facts to be very 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

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