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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 Fairfax renters

In Fairfax, Nesbitt Realty wants to work with good tenants. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant pays the rent when due every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A renter is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter does not smoke in the home.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the property.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential tenants in Fairfax 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 rude to us at the start, they will probably be rude as tenants. If a lies, we can expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has difficulty finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even when every statement initially is good we still check the background of each potential tenant with a full background check. Every potential renter 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 Fairfax: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

Fairfax Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as property managers in Fairfax 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.

Do you need understand more about this local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who hopes to learn more about Fairfax and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information regarding what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a few surprising facts that you might not be aware of.  And, our Guide has quite a few of the aspects of life in Fairfax.  As might be expected, most of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but landlords and tenants will probably also find the facts 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

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