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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 Harrisonburg renters

In Harrisonburg, Nesbitt Realty likes to work with reasonable renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. A tenant pays the rent on time every time. 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 bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not misuse the property or its systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to work with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A tenant 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 renter doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who measure up to this standard? 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 tardy renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in Harrisonburg based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential tenants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us from the beginning, they will probably be rude as renters. If a is caught fabricating facts, we will expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has troubles producing fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same person will have problems during the lease.

But even if every action initially is promising we still check the background of every person with a full background check. Every applicant 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 Harrisonburg: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

Harrisonburg Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Harrisonburg and the information which we have verified. Ultimately the landlord decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Should you understand more about the area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for everyone who needs to learn more about Harrisonburg and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate has information about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as some compelling facts that you might not know.  Furthermore, our Guide has many of the benefits of residing in Harrisonburg.  Of course, most of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but property owners and renters will likely also find this data to be quite edifying.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt Julie 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

Real Estate hours and equipment assembly located in Nesbitt Realty headquarter(s) (703) 765 0300

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