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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, our management staff wants to deal with dependable renters. 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 renter is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not destroy the property.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter does not smoke in the property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find renters who measure up to this ideal? 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 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 tenants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is rude to 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 troubles scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same applicant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even if every appearance initially is promising we still check the background of every person with a complete background check. Every potential tenant and occupant must provide 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 complete we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as rental 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 need know more about the community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for everyone who hopes to find out more about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas.  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.  Also, our Guide features many of the aspects of residing in Northern Virginia.  Definitely, most of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but landlords and tenants might also find these resources to be somewhat enlightening.

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

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