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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 Shirlington renters

In Shirlington, our team likes to deal with reliable renters. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  1. A renter 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 has integrity. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not overwork 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 renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant 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 tenant 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 property.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that bad 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 renters in Shirlington based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess applicants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us from the outset, they will probably be trying as renters. If a is dishonest, we will expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  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 if every appearance initially is promising we still check the background of each 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 Shirlington: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

Shirlington Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as property managers in Shirlington and the information that 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.

Should you understand more about the area?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who hopes to review important real estate information about Shirlington and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has data about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a few surprising facts that you might not know.  Furthermore, our Guide has quite a few of the benefits of living in Shirlington.  As might be expected, most of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but owners and tenants will also find this data to be quite enlightening.

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 Nesbitt
Will and 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