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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 Washington tenants

In Washington, our management staff wants to work with dependable tenants. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  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 tenant has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not destroy systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask 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 tenant 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 tenants who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that troublesome 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 applicants in Washington based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential renters based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff at the start, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we will expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has difficulty finding money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have difficulty during the lease.

But even if every action initially is promising we still check the background of every potential renter with a full background check. Every potential renter 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 Washington: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

Washington Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as property managers in Washington and the information that we have verified. Ultimately the property 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?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who needs to find out more about Washington and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has facts about what has sold and what is for sale, and many surprising facts that you might not know.  In addition, our Guide has many of the fundamentals of living in Washington.  Of course, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but owners and renters will probably also find these tools to be quite 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

Realtor 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