What we seek in Northern Virginia tenants
In Northern Virginia, our management staff prefers to work with dependable tenants. Here are some of the traits we look for.
- A renter pays the rent on time every time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
- A renter is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
- A renter is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
- A tenant does not destroy the home.
- A tenant is courteous and pleasant to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
- A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
- A tenant complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors 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 tenant doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the tenant 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 real estate investor wants to rent the home.
So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live 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 troublesome renters.
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 potential renters based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers at the outset, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter. If a has a problem scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same applicant will have problems during the lease.
But even when every statement initially is good we still check the background of each person 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
Elementary information about what management services in Northern Virginia.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with property management
Find A Tenant
Market your property to rent to find a dependable renter 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 landlords.
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 property owners in Northern Virginia
- Before you lease out your rental 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 owner get paid?
- How your property 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 property 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 investment
- When 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 reviewed we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as rental 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 need understand more about our local real estate market?
Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for anyone who needs to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas. The Guide to Real Estate provides facts about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as some interesting facts that you may not know. And, our Guide highlights quite a few of the benefits of life in Northern Virginia. Certainly, most of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants will probably also find these tools to be quite 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