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

What we seek in Woodbridge tenants

In Woodbridge, our team prefers to work with reasonable renters. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  1. A tenant 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 tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not destroy the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice 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 complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand 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 tenant does not smoke in the home.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the property.

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 difficult renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out bad tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential renters in Woodbridge based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential tenants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff from the beginning, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has troubles scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential renter will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every action initially is promising we still check the background of each potential tenant with a complete background check. Every person 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 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 Woodbridge 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.

Do you want understand more about this area?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who hopes to review important real estate information about Woodbridge and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate has data regarding what has sold and what is on the market, as well as some surprising facts that you might not be aware of.  And, our Guide features quite a few of the fundamentals of life in Woodbridge.  Of course, all of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but owners and tenants will likely also find these resources to be quite useful.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt at Mason Neck
Will Nesbitt is here when you need him.

"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