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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 Falls Church renters

In Falls Church, our management staff prefers to work with dependable renters. Here are a few 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 is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the home.
  5. A tenant 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 complains at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to replace 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 renter 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 renter, but how do we find tenants 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 difficult tenants.

 

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 judge potential tenants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff at the outset, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a lies, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has a problem scrounging up money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same person will have problems during the lease.

But even when every appearance initially is promising we still check the background of each applicant with a complete background check. Every person 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 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 rental managers in Falls Church and the information that 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 want know more about the local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who needs to review important real estate information about Falls Church and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has facts about what has sold and what is currently listed, and some shocking facts that you might not be aware of.  And, our Guide has many of the assets of living in Falls Church.  Of course, most of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but owners and tenants will also find this data to be very 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

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