(703)765-0300

Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

What we seek in Northern Virginia tenants

In Northern Virginia, our team wants to deal with dependable renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  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 tenant does not damage the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause issues 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter 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 property.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who measure up to this ideal? 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 troublesome tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential renters in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential renters based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us at the outset, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even when every appearance initially is good we still vet each potential tenant 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 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 complete we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as property 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.

Do you want understand more about this community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who needs to find out more about Northern Virginia and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has facts about what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as a couple of shocking facts that you might not be aware of.  Also, our Guide features some fundamentals of living in Northern Virginia.  As might be expected, all of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but owners and tenants might 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