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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 work with dependable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  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 renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not misuse systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to work with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to upgrade functioning systems. A renter doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A tenant 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 property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the home.

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

 

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 rude to our staff at the start, they will probably be rude as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has a problem scrounging up certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have difficulty during the lease.

But even if every statement initially is promising we still vet every person with a full background check. Every potential renter 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 reviewed we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as property 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 need understand more about our area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who needs to learn more about Northern Virginia and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes data about what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as a couple of interesting facts that you might not know.  And, our Guide has many of the benefits of residing in Northern Virginia.  As might be expected, all of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but rental investors and tenants will likely also find these tools to be quite sobering.

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