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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 City of Falls Church renters

In City of Falls Church, our team likes to deal with good tenants. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  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 renter is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A renter does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage the property or its systems.
  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 tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe 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 tenant 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 real estate investor wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that tardy 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 potential renters in City of 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 difficult with our staff from the beginning, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a lies, we will expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has a problem scrounging up certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every appearance initially is good we still check the background of each person with a complete 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 City of 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

City of 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 City of 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.

Should you know more about our local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who wants to find out more about City of Falls Church and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides facts regarding what has sold and what is on the market, and a few compelling facts that you might not know.  Also, our Guide features quite a few of the fundamentals of residing in City of Falls Church.  Naturally, all of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants should also find the facts to be somewhat edifying.

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

Will Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt
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