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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 likes to deal with reliable tenants. Here are some 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 tenant has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is fastidious. A renter does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not damage the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask to upgrade functioning systems. A tenant 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 property.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease 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 renters who measure 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 unreasonable renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential renters in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential tenants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers at the beginning, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a lies, we can expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has difficulty finding money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same person will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even when every statement initially is promising we still check the background of every person with a complete background check. Every applicant 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 that 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 need know more about this community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for anyone who hopes to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides data regarding what has sold and what is for sale, and a couple of surprising facts that you might not be aware of.  And, our Guide highlights quite a few of the fundamentals of life in Northern Virginia.  Definitely, all of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but owners and renters might also find the facts to be quite enlightening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will and Julie Nesbitt
Julie and Will Nesbitt pause from property management to take a quick picture.

"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