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

What we seek in Dunn Loring renters

In Dunn Loring, our team likes to deal with good renters. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  1. A renter 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 is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is fastidious. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not break the property or its systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask 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 rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that difficult 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 Dunn Loring 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 rude to us at the start, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has difficulty finding money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential tenant will have problems during the lease.

But even if every statement initially is promising we still check the background of every potential renter with a full background check. Every potential tenant and occupant must provide a government-issue photo identification. From there, as property managers we start our vetting process.

How we protect the landlord’s interests in Dunn Loring: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

Dunn Loring Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Dunn Loring 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.

Should you know more about the community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for everyone who needs to review important real estate information about Dunn Loring and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information regarding what has sold and what is for sale, and many surprising facts that you might not know.  In addition, our Guide features many of the elements of life in Dunn Loring.  Certainly, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but rental investors and tenants will likely also find this data to be very enlightening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will and Julie
Partners in life. Partners in business.

"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 Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt
Julie and Will Nesbitt

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