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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 tenants

In Northern Virginia, our team wants to deal with good tenants. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. A renter 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 honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is fastidious. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not overwork the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A renter reports problems when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause problems 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 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 rental term that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that unreasonable renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out bad 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 assess potential tenants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with us from the outset, they will probably be trying as renters. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has difficulty producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same applicant will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even if every appearance initially is promising we still check the background of every applicant with a complete background check. Every potential tenant 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 complete we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as property managers in Northern Virginia and the information that 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.

Do you want know more about our area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for anyone who wants to find out more about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas.  The Guide to Real Estate has data about what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as some interesting facts that you might not know.  In addition, our Guide spotlights quite a few of the aspects of life in Northern Virginia.  Naturally, most of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but property owners and renters will also find this information to be somewhat enlightening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt is here when you need us.

"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

Realtors in the Shenandoah Valley
Will and Julie on Woodstock Tower

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