What we seek in Northern Virginia tenants
In Northern Virginia, our management staff likes to deal with reasonable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we expect.
- A renter pays the rent on time every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
- A tenant has integrity. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
- A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
- A renter does not break systems.
- A tenant is courteous and nice to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
- A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
- A tenant complains when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
- A tenant doesn't gripe 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.
- A tenant does not smoke in the property.
- A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the home.
So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that tardy renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose 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 judge applicants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff at the outset, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be unreliable as a renter. If a has difficulty finding money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have troubles during the lease.
But even if every action 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 property managers we start our vetting process.
How we protect the landlord’s interests in Northern Virginia:
Northern Virginia Rental Management Resources
Basics
Fundamental info 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 real estate investors?
Cost
An overview 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 property?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Landlord Reference
a useful archive for property owners in Northern Virginia
- Before you put a renter in your rental property in Northern Virginia
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the tenant
- During the lease term
- End of tenancy and what happens when a tenant breaks the lease
- How does the landlord get paid?
- How your rental manager handles the association and your community
- How your management company handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Management finds tenants
- Insurance matters for owners using our property management
- How Nesbitt Management handles keys
- Northern Virginia owner 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
- When owners don't yet know their new address
- Vetting tenants in Northern Virginia
More Information About Northern Virginia
Our recommendation
After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as property managers in Northern Virginia and the information which we have verified. Ultimately the real estate investor 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 this community?
Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for everyone who needs to learn more about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas. The Guide to Real Estate provides information about what has sold and what is on the market, and a couple of surprising facts that you may not know. Not to mention, our Guide has some elements of life in Northern Virginia. Of course, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but owners and renters will also find these resources to be quite sobering.
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