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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 Shenandoah County renters

In Shenandoah County, our management staff prefers to work with good renters. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant 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-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not overwork systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother 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 tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant 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 renter does not smoke in the property.
  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 tenants who live up to this standard? 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 tardy tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential renters in Shenandoah County based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential renters based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff from the outset, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a is dishonest, we will expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has a problem scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have problems during the lease.

But even when every statement initially is promising we still check the background of every potential tenant with a full background check. Every person 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 Shenandoah County: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

Shenandoah County Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

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

Do you need know more about this local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for anyone who hopes to investigate real estate facts about Shenandoah County and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides data about what has sold and what is for sale, and a couple of surprising facts that you may not know.  Furthermore, our Guide has many of the benefits of living in Shenandoah County.  Of course, all of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but property owners and tenants should also find this data to be somewhat 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

Kim Nesbitt and Julie Nesbitt
Kim Nesbitt and 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