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

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

What we look for in Northern Virginia renters

In Northern Virginia, our management staff wants to deal with good tenants. Here are a few 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 tenant is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is neat. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not destroy the property or its systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to upgrade functioning systems. A renter doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A tenant 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 rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants 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 nose for sniffing out unreasonable tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential tenants in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge people based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with us from the start, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has difficulty finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have troubles during the lease.

But even when every appearance initially is promising we still vet each potential tenant with a complete background check. Every person 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 Northern Virginia: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

Northern Virginia Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as rental managers in Northern Virginia 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 this area?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who needs to find out more about Northern Virginia and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes data about what has sold and what is on the market, and a few interesting facts that you might not know.  Not to mention, our Guide has quite a few of the assets of life in Northern Virginia.  As a matter of course, most of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants will likely also find this information to be very enlightening.

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