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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 Mason Neck tenants

In Mason Neck, our management staff likes to deal with reliable tenants. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  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 tenant is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage the property.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter reports problems at appropriate times. Renters 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 demand to replace functioning systems. A renter 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 tenant does not smoke in the property.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the rental.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential tenants in Mason Neck based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential renters based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers at the beginning, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has difficulty scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same applicant will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even if every statement initially is good we still check the background of every applicant with a full background check. Every applicant 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 Mason Neck: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

Mason Neck Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as rental managers in Mason Neck and the information that we have verified. Ultimately the landlord decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Should you know more about our community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for anyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Mason Neck and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles facts regarding what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a couple of interesting facts that you may not be aware of.  And, our Guide highlights quite a few of the benefits of living in Mason Neck.  Definitely, all of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but owners and renters might also find these tools to be very eye-opening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt sits in the consultation room
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