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

What we seek in Bridgewater renters

In Bridgewater, Nesbitt Realty likes to deal with reasonable tenants. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  1. A tenant 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 has integrity. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not misuse systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners 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 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 home.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor 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 bad tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out tardy tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

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

But even if every action initially is promising we still vet each 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 Bridgewater: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

Bridgewater Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as property managers in Bridgewater 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 know more about the community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who hopes to learn more about Bridgewater and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has facts regarding what has sold and what is for sale, as well as some interesting facts that you might not know.  Also, our Guide features some benefits of life in Bridgewater.  Definitely, most of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but property owners and tenants should also find these tools to be very edifying.

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

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