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

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

What we look for in West McLean tenants

In West McLean, our team wants to work with reliable renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. 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.
  2. A tenant is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fastidious. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A renter complains when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause problems 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 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 rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters 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 difficult renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in West McLean 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 staff at the beginning, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has a problem producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential renter will have difficulty during the lease.

But even when every appearance initially is promising we still check the background of each applicant with a full background check. Every potential renter 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 West McLean: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

West McLean Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as property managers in West McLean and the information which we have verified. Ultimately the property owner 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 helpful tool for anyone who wants to investigate real estate facts about West McLean and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles information regarding what has sold and what is for sale, and many surprising facts that you might not be aware of.  Not to mention, our Guide features many of the benefits of residing in West McLean.  Certainly, most of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but landlords and renters will likely also find this information to be very 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

Realtor 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