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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 Falls Church renters

In Falls Church, our management staff wants to work with good renters. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  1. A renter 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 tenant is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is neat. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not destroy 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 annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter reports problems at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords 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 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 property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the landlord 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 troublesome tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out difficult renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in Falls Church 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 difficult with our managers from the beginning, they will probably be trying as renters. If a lies, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has difficulty producing certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have difficulty during the lease.

But even when every statement initially is promising we still vet every applicant with a complete background check. Every potential renter and occupant must submit a government-issue photo identification. From there, as rental we start our vetting process.

How we protect the landlord’s interests in Falls Church: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

Falls Church Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Falls Church and the information that we have verified. Ultimately the property owner 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 community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who wants to find out more about Falls Church and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate has information regarding what has sold and what is for sale, and a couple of interesting facts that you may not be aware of.  And, our Guide features quite a few of the benefits of life in Falls Church.  Of course, most of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but rental investors and tenants may also find this data to be quite useful.

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 has the experience that counts in Northern VA real estate.

 I like tenants that pay on time. Late paying tenants cause extra work and unnecessary stress for landlords and property managers. ~ Julie Nesbitt