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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 deal with reasonable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. A tenant pays the rent when due 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-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the home.
  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 tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to replace functioning systems. A tenant 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 renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who measure up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that troublesome renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out unreasonable 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 judge people based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff at the beginning, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a lies, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have troubles during the lease.

But even if every action initially is promising we still check the background of every applicant with a complete background check. Every potential renter 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 reviewed we make a recommendation to the owner 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 understand more about the area?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for everyone who wants to find out more about Northern Virginia and nearby areas.  The Guide to Real Estate includes data regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, and many shocking facts that you may not know.  Not to mention, our Guide has many of the fundamentals of living in Northern Virginia.  As might be expected, all of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but owners and renters may also find these tools to be quite informative.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

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"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

Will and Julie Nesbitt
Will and 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