(703)765-0300

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 likes to work with reliable renters. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant 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 renter is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is neat. A tenant does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to replace 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 renter does not smoke in the home.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that troublesome tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out unreasonable tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess applicants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers from the beginning, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has a problem producing fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same person will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every action initially is promising we still check the background of each potential renter 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 finished we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as rental 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 want understand more about the community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who hopes to learn more about Northern Virginia and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes data about what has sold and what is currently listed, and a couple of interesting facts that you may not be aware of.  Furthermore, our Guide features some assets of residing in Northern Virginia.  Yes, most of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but real estate investors and renters might also find these tools to be quite eye-opening.

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

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