(703)765-0300

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

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

What we seek in Clifton renters

In Clifton, our management staff likes to work with good renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. A renter 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 renter is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not damage the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to work with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter 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 renter does not smoke in the home.
  10. A tenant 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 renter, but how do we find tenants who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that troublesome tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out difficult tenants.

 

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 applicants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers at the outset, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a lies, we will expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has troubles producing 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 statement initially is promising we still check the background of each potential tenant with a complete background check. Every potential renter and occupant must submit a government-issue photo identification. From there, as property managers 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 reviewed we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as property managers in Clifton and the information which 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 want understand more about this community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for anyone who wants to find out more about Clifton and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate includes data about what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as a couple of compelling facts that you might not be aware of.  Also, our Guide features quite a few of the aspects of life in Clifton.  As might be expected, most of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but property owners and renters will also find this information to be somewhat 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

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