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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 Clifton tenants

In Clifton, our management staff wants to deal with reliable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  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 trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not misuse systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to work with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors 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 replace functioning systems. A renter 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 property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the owner wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that bad tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out unreasonable renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in Clifton based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess applicants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us at the start, they will probably be rude as renters. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has difficulty finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have problems during the lease.

But even if every action initially is promising we still vet every person with a complete background check. Every person 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 Clifton: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

Clifton Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as property managers in Clifton 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 need understand more about our area?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for anyone who hopes to find out more about Clifton and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles facts regarding what has sold and what is for sale, as well as a few compelling facts that you may not know.  Not to mention, our Guide has quite a few of the assets of life in Clifton.  As a matter of course, all of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but owners and renters will probably also find this data to be very edifying.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt sits in the consultation room
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 has the experience that counts in Northern VA real estate.

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