Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

What we seek in Middletown renters

In Middletown, Nesbitt Realty prefers to deal with good tenants. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  1. A renter pays the rent when due every time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A tenant is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not damage the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause problems 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 renter does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the real estate investor 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 difficult renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out unreasonable tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in Middletown based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential renters based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff from the beginning, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a lies, we will expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have troubles during the lease.

But even if every statement initially is promising we still check the background of each 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 Middletown: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

Middletown Rental 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 Middletown and the information that we have verified. Ultimately the owner decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Should you know more about the community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who wants to find out more about Middletown and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has information about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a couple of interesting facts that you might not know.  And, our Guide has quite a few of the elements of residing in Middletown.  Of course, most of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants will also find these resources to be very informative.

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 and Julie at a Nationals Game
Will & 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