What we seek in Northern Virginia tenants
In Northern Virginia, our team likes to work with reasonable renters. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.
- 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.
- A tenant is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
- A tenant is fastidious. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
- A tenant does not damage the home.
- A renter is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
- A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
- A tenant complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause issues for property managers.
- A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to upgrade functioning systems. A renter doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A renter doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
- A tenant does not smoke in the home.
- A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the rental.
So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who measure up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that bad renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out difficult tenants.
Our Five Step Process
Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in Northern Virginia based upon appearance. Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess people based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers at the outset, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a lies, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant. If a has troubles scrounging up certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have problems during the lease.
But even if every action initially is promising we still vet every potential tenant with a full 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:
Northern Virginia Property Management Resources
Basics
Basic information regarding management services in Northern Virginia.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with property management
Find A Tenant
List your property to rent to find a dependable tenant in Northern Virginia fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for property owners?
Cost
A list of prices of property management services in Northern Virginia
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty vets renters for property owners.
Reserves
What is a contingency reserve account?
Territory
Where does Nesbitt Realty manage rental investments?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Landlord Reference
a good source for rental investors in Northern Virginia
- Before you rent out your investment in Northern Virginia
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the renter
- During the lease term
- End of lease term and what happens when a renter breaks the lease
- How does the rental investor get paid?
- How your property management company handles the association and your community
- How your property manager handles utilities
- How we find tenants
- Insurance matters for property owners using our rental management
- How Nesbitt Management handles keys
- Northern Virginia rental investor responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental investment in Northern Virginia
- The move-in inspection
- Property management information form
- Selling a 1031 tax exchange & more
- Starting our management of your rental investment
- When property owners don't yet know their new address
- Vetting renters in Northern Virginia
More Information About Northern Virginia
Our recommendation
After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Northern Virginia and the information which 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 know more about our local real estate market?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for everyone who wants to find out more about Northern Virginia and surrounding areas. The Guide to Real Estate has data regarding what has sold and what is for sale, and some shocking facts that you might not be aware of. And, our Guide highlights some elements of living in Northern Virginia. As might be expected, all of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but real estate investors and renters may also find this data to be somewhat eye-opening.
Our Broker 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

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