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

What we look for in Clifton tenants

In Clifton, our team likes to deal with good tenants. Here are some of the traits we expect.

  1. A tenant pays the rent when due every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A tenant is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is fastidious. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to work with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant 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 tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the home.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in Clifton 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 managers at the start, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a makes false statements, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has troubles scrounging up money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same person will have problems during the lease.

But even when every appearance initially is good we still check the background of each potential tenant with a full 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 Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as rental managers in Clifton 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 know more about this local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for everyone who wants to learn more about Clifton and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has data about what has sold and what is on the market, and a couple of interesting facts that you may not be aware of.  Also, our Guide spotlights many of the benefits of residing in Clifton.  Of course, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but landlords and renters will likely also find these tools to be quite useful.

Our Broker 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

Will and Julie
On the boat at Sunset

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