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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 tenants

In Northern Virginia, our team likes to work with dependable 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 renter is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not misuse the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant 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 renter complains at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems 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 renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the rental.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential tenants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our managers at the start, they will probably be rude as renters. If a lies, we can expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has a problem producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even if every appearance initially is good we still check the background of every applicant with a complete background check. Every potential tenant 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 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 complete we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Northern Virginia and the information which we have verified. Ultimately the landlord 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 our local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for anyone who wants to find out more about Northern Virginia and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes information regarding what has sold and what is for sale, and many interesting facts that you may not know.  In addition, our Guide highlights quite a few of the aspects of living in Northern Virginia.  Of course, most of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but landlords and renters will likely also find these tools to be very enlightening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt, Principal Broker at Nesbitt Realty

"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

Realtor 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