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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, our team wants to work with dependable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant pays the rent on time every month. 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-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fastidious. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not overwork the property or its systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A renter knows 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. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term 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 renters who measure up to this standard? 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 troublesome renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess people based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers at the outset, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a is dishonest, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has a problem finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have troubles while they are in the rental.

But even if every action initially is good we still vet every potential renter with a complete background check. Every applicant 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 Property 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 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 want know more about the local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for anyone who hopes to find out more about Northern Virginia and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information regarding what has sold and what is for sale, as well as a few surprising facts that you might not know.  Not to mention, our Guide features quite a few of the aspects of life in Northern Virginia.  Certainly, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but landlords and renters will also find this data to be somewhat edifying.

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