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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 Woodbridge tenants

In Woodbridge, our management staff prefers to deal with dependable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  1. A renter 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 renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A renter does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not break systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to work with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to upgrade functioning systems. A tenant doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A renter 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 property.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the home.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential tenants in Woodbridge based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential renters based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers from the outset, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we will expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has difficulty 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 if every action initially is promising we still check the background of each applicant with a complete background check. Every potential renter 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 real estate investor based upon our experience as rental managers in Woodbridge and the information that 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 understand more about our area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who wants to learn more about Woodbridge and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes facts about what has sold and what is for sale, and some surprising facts that you may not be aware of.  Also, our Guide features some aspects of residing in Woodbridge.  As a matter of course, all of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but rental investors and renters will probably also find this information to be very useful.

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

Julie Nesbitt
Julie Nesbitt, a Realtor with experience in Northern Virginia

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