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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 renters

In Northern Virginia, Nesbitt Realty wants to deal with dependable renters. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  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 is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the property.
  5. A renter 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 head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain 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 renter doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the home.

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 difficult tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out unreasonable 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 judge people based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff from the outset, they will probably be trying as renters. If a lies, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has a problem producing certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same person will have difficulty during the lease.

But even if every action initially is promising we still check the background of each applicant with a complete background check. Every applicant and occupant must submit 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 finished we make a recommendation to the owner 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.

Should you understand more about the community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for everyone who wants to learn more about Northern Virginia and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles facts about what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as a couple of compelling facts that you may not be aware of.  Furthermore, our Guide spotlights quite a few of the fundamentals of living in Northern Virginia.  As might be expected, all of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but property owners and tenants might also find the facts 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

Julie Nesbitt
"I will get the job done."

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