(703)765-0300

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 wants to deal with good renters. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  1. A tenant pays the rent when due every time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A tenant is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not overwork the property or its systems.
  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 tenant doesn't bother 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 complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to upgrade functioning systems. A tenant doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A renter 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 rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the landlord 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 troublesome tenants 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 potential tenants in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess people based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us at the outset, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a makes false statements, we will expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has troubles scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty during the lease.

But even when every action initially is good we still check the background of each potential tenant with a full background check. Every person and occupant must submit 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 landlord 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 this local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for anyone who wants to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides data about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as many shocking facts that you might not know.  In addition, our Guide spotlights quite a few of the assets of living in Northern Virginia.  As might be expected, most of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but landlords and renters will likely also find these resources to be somewhat sobering.

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