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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 management staff prefers to work with reliable renters. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  1. A tenant pays the rent on time every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A tenant is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not destroy the property or its systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to get along with. A tenant 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 landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to replace 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease 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 measure up to this standard? Experience has taught us that difficult 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 tenants in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess applicants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with us from the start, they will probably be trying as renters. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has a problem finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even when every appearance initially is promising we still vet each person with a full background check. Every potential renter 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 Rental 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 Northern Virginia and the information that we have verified. Ultimately the 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 tool for anyone who hopes to find out more about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information about what has sold and what is currently listed, and a couple of shocking facts that you might not know.  Also, our Guide features many of the fundamentals of living in Northern Virginia.  Of course, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants will likely also find these tools to be quite informative.

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, a Realtor with experience in Northern Virginia

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