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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, Nesbitt Realty prefers to deal with good renters. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  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-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fastidious. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to work with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A renter reports problems at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to upgrade 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter does not smoke in the home.
  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 renters who measure up to this standard? Experience has taught us that troublesome renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out difficult 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 potential tenants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff from the outset, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a is dishonest, we will expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has troubles scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential renter will have troubles while they are in the rental.

But even if every action initially is promising we still vet every potential renter with a full 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 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.

Do you want understand more about our area?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who wants to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes facts regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as many shocking facts that you might not know.  Furthermore, our Guide features many of the elements of life in Northern Virginia.  Certainly, all of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but rental investors and tenants might also find this data to be very informative.

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