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

What we look for in Clifton renters

In Clifton, our team wants to deal with dependable tenants. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  1. A tenant 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 renter has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not misuse the property or its systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain 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 renter 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 property owner wants to rent the property.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential tenants in Clifton based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential renters based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our managers from the start, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has a problem producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same person will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every action initially is promising we still vet every potential renter 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 finished we make a recommendation to the owner 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 want know more about our local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for anyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Clifton and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides facts about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as a couple of shocking facts that you might not know.  Furthermore, our Guide has some fundamentals of living in Clifton.  As might be expected, all of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but landlords and tenants should also find this data to be very edifying.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt
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"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 Nesbitt
Julie and Will Nesbitt pause from property management to take a quick picture.

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