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

What we look for in Shenandoah tenants

In Shenandoah, Nesbitt Realty prefers to deal with good tenants. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  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 renter is reasonably clean. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage the property or its systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to get along with. A tenant understands 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 real estate investors 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 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 rental.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that bad 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 potential renters in Shenandoah based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge people based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers at the beginning, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a lies, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has troubles scrounging up money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same applicant will have difficulty during the lease.

But even if every statement initially is promising we still vet every applicant with a full 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 Shenandoah: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

Shenandoah Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

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

Do you need understand more about the community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who wants to investigate real estate facts about Shenandoah and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides data about what has sold and what is for sale, and many interesting facts that you might not know.  Furthermore, our Guide has some aspects of residing in Shenandoah.  Definitely, all of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but real estate investors and renters will likely also find these resources to be quite eye-opening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt Aubrey Nesbitt
Will and 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

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