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

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

What we seek in Arlington Ridge renters

In Arlington Ridge, Nesbitt Realty wants to deal with reasonable renters. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant pays the rent on time every time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A renter is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not misuse systems.
  5. A renter 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 disturb neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to replace 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 tenant does not smoke in the home.
  10. A renter 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 renters who live up to this standard? 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 potential renters in Arlington Ridge 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 staff from the outset, they will probably be trying as renters. If a lies, we will expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has difficulty scrounging up money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty during the lease.

But even when every appearance initially is good we still vet each person with a complete background check. Every potential renter and occupant must provide a government-issue photo identification. From there, as rental we start our vetting process.

How we protect the landlord’s interests in Arlington Ridge: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

Arlington Ridge Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as property managers in Arlington Ridge and the information that 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 understand more about this local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for everyone who needs to review important real estate information about Arlington Ridge and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information regarding what has sold and what is on the market, and a few surprising facts that you might not be aware of.  In addition, our Guide spotlights quite a few of the fundamentals of life in Arlington Ridge.  As might be expected, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but real estate investors and renters may also find these resources to be very eye-opening.

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, a Realtor with experience in Northern Virginia

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