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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, our team wants to deal with reliable renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  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 tenant is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A renter does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not misuse the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A renter reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords 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 ask 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 rental.
  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 tenants who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that tardy renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out tardy renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge people based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with us at the outset, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a lies, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has troubles scrounging up money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential tenant will have troubles during the lease.

But even when every statement initially is promising we still vet each potential renter with a full 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 Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished 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 property owner decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Should you know more about this community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for anyone who hopes to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate includes data about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as some surprising facts that you may not know.  Also, our Guide has many of the fundamentals of living in Northern Virginia.  Of course, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but property owners and tenants will probably also find the facts to be quite edifying.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt can help you achieve your real estate goals.

"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