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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 tenants

In Falls Church, our team wants to deal with reliable tenants. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  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 has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A tenant does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not destroy the property.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to work with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to upgrade functioning systems. A renter doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A renter 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 rental.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor 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 unreasonable renters 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 judge potential renters based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with us from the beginning, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a is dishonest, we will expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even if every appearance initially is good we still vet every potential tenant with a full background check. Every person 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 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 reviewed we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as property 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 understand more about this area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Falls Church and nearby areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides data regarding what has sold and what is for sale, and many shocking facts that you may not know.  Furthermore, our Guide spotlights many of the assets of life in Falls Church.  Naturally, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but owners and renters will also find this information to be very 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

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