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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 Grottoes renters

In Grottoes, Nesbitt Realty wants to work with reasonable renters. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  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 renter is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not overwork the property or its systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause head-aches 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 tenant 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 rental.
  10. A tenant 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 renters who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that difficult renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out difficult renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in Grottoes based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess people based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff from the outset, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has difficulty scrounging up money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have troubles while they are in the rental.

But even if every action initially is promising we still vet every applicant with a full background check. Every person 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 Grottoes: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

Grottoes Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as property managers in Grottoes and the information which 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.

Do you want know more about our community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for everyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Grottoes and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate includes facts regarding what has sold and what is for sale, as well as many compelling facts that you might not know.  Also, our Guide features many of the benefits of living in Grottoes.  As a matter of course, most of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but property owners and tenants might also find the facts to be quite sobering.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt at his office in Alexandria VA

"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