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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, Nesbitt Realty prefers to work with dependable tenants. Here are a few 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 trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to work with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand 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 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 lease that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, 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 troublesome 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 potential renters based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers at the beginning, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a lies, we will expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has difficulty scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same person will have problems during the lease.

But even when every statement initially is promising we still vet every potential renter with a complete background check. Every person 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 reviewed we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as rental managers in Northern Virginia and the information that 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 this community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for anyone who wants to find out more about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles data regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, and a few compelling facts that you might not be aware of.  Also, our Guide has some fundamentals of living in Northern Virginia.  Definitely, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but landlords and tenants will likely also find this data to be very informative.

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 sold another!

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