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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 Northern Virginia tenants

In Northern Virginia, our team prefers to deal with good tenants. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  1. A renter pays the rent on time every time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A renter has integrity. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fastidious. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not break the home.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords 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 demand to replace 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 renter 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 owner wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that unreasonable 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 potential tenants in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge applicants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with us at the beginning, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has difficulty scrounging up certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have troubles during the lease.

But even if every statement initially is good we still check the background of each applicant with a complete background check. Every applicant 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 Northern Virginia: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

Northern Virginia Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Northern Virginia 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.

Should you understand more about the local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for everyone who wants to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as many compelling facts that you may not be aware of.  Furthermore, our Guide has quite a few of the fundamentals of residing in Northern Virginia.  Definitely, most of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but owners and renters will also find these tools 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

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