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

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

What we seek in Northern Virginia tenants

In Northern Virginia, our management staff wants to deal with good tenants. Here are some of the traits we expect.

  1. A tenant pays the rent on time every time. 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-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not destroy systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. Renters 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 demand to replace 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter does not smoke in the home.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who live up to this standard? 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 difficult renters.

 

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 assess potential tenants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers from the outset, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a lies, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has troubles producing certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have difficulty during the lease.

But even if every action initially is good we still check the background of every person with a complete background check. Every person and occupant must submit 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 Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as property 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 understand more about the local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for everyone who needs to learn more about Northern Virginia and nearby areas.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles facts about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as some interesting facts that you might not know.  In addition, our Guide highlights quite a few of the fundamentals of living in Northern Virginia.  Yes, most of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but real estate investors and renters will probably also find these tools to be very edifying.

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

Realtor 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