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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 Dumfries renters

In Dumfries, our team prefers to work with good tenants. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  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 renter is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not destroy the home.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter reports problems when appropriate. 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 ask to replace functioning systems. A tenant 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 owner wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find renters who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that troublesome renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out unreasonable renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential renters in Dumfries based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess applicants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us from the start, they will probably be trying as renters. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has a problem finding certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential renter will have difficulty during the lease.

But even if every appearance initially is promising we still vet every potential tenant with a complete background check. Every potential renter and occupant must submit a government-issue photo identification. From there, as property managers we start our vetting process.

How we protect the landlord’s interests in Dumfries: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

Dumfries Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Dumfries 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.

Do you need understand more about the community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who wants to find out more about Dumfries and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles information about what has sold and what is on the market, and a few surprising facts that you may not know.  Furthermore, our Guide features many of the fundamentals of residing in Dumfries.  Of course, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants will likely also find these tools to be very enlightening.

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
On the boat at Sunset

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