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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 Woodbridge renters

In Woodbridge, Nesbitt Realty likes to deal with reliable renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. A renter pays the rent when due every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A tenant is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is fastidious. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not misuse the property.
  5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains at appropriate times. 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 upgrade 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 rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find renters who live 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 tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in Woodbridge 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 difficult with our managers from the outset, they will probably be rude as tenants. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have problems while they are in the rental.

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

How we protect the landlord’s interests in Woodbridge: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

Woodbridge Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as property managers in Woodbridge and the information that 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.

Do you want understand more about the community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who hopes to learn more about Woodbridge and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes data regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as a few compelling facts that you might not know.  And, our Guide has quite a few of the aspects of living in Woodbridge.  As a matter of course, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but owners and renters may also find this data to be quite sobering.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt
"We can help when you need us."

"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

Kim Nesbitt and Julie Nesbitt
Kim Nesbitt and 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