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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 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 tenant has integrity. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not destroy the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice 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 tenant reports problems at appropriate times. tenants 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 tenant doesn't ask 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that troublesome tenants 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 people in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess people based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us from the outset, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a lies, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has difficulty finding certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty during the lease.

But even when every action initially is promising we still vet every potential tenant with a full background check. Every potential tenant and occupant must submit a government-issue photo identification. From there, as rental 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 finished we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as property managers in Northern Virginia and the information which 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 local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for everyone who wants to find out more about Northern Virginia and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as many compelling facts that you may not be aware of.  In addition, our Guide has quite a few of the fundamentals of life in Northern Virginia.  Of course, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but owners and tenants will also find these tools to be quite eye-opening.

Our Broker 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

Will Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt Aubrey 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