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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 Prince William County tenants

In Prince William County, our team likes to deal with reasonable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  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 renter is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fastidious. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not destroy the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to replace 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 property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease 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 tenants who measure up to this standard? Experience has taught us that bad 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 potential tenants in Prince William County 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 rude to us at the beginning, they will probably be trying as renters. If a lies, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has troubles finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same applicant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every statement initially is good we still vet every applicant 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 Prince William County: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

Prince William County Rental 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 Prince William County and the information which 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 local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for everyone who hopes to investigate real estate facts about Prince William County and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has information regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as many interesting facts that you may not know.  In addition, our Guide highlights many of the benefits of living in Prince William County.  Naturally, all of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but real estate investors and renters will also find this data to be very sobering.

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
Partners in life. Partners in business.

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