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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 Bridgewater tenants

In Bridgewater, Nesbitt Realty wants to deal with reliable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  1. A renter 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 tenant is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not overwork systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to replace 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 tenant 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 owner wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who measure 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 nose for sniffing out tardy renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in Bridgewater based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge applicants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with us from the start, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a makes false statements, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has a problem scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential tenant will have troubles during the lease.

But even when every statement initially is promising we still vet every potential renter with a full background check. Every person and occupant must provide a government-issue photo identification. From there, as rental 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 Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as property managers in Bridgewater 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.

Should you understand more about the local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for everyone who needs to find out more about Bridgewater and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has facts about what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as a couple of interesting facts that you may not know.  Furthermore, our Guide has many of the fundamentals of living in Bridgewater.  Certainly, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but property owners and renters will likely also find these resources to be somewhat eye-opening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will and Julie
Partners in life. Partners in business.

"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 and Will
Julie and Will Nesbitt pause from property management to take a quick picture.

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