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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 prefers to work with good tenants. Here are some of the traits we expect.

  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 renter is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not destroy the property or its systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain 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 tenant does not smoke in the home.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the landlord 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 difficult tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack 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 assess applicants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us from the beginning, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a lies, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has difficulty scrounging up certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even if every action initially is promising we still vet each person with a full background check. Every applicant 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 Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the real estate investor 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 need understand more about the area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for everyone who wants to find out more about Northern Virginia and nearby areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information about what has sold and what is currently listed, and some interesting facts that you might not know.  In addition, our Guide highlights some benefits of living in Northern Virginia.  Naturally, all of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but owners and renters will probably also find this data to be somewhat sobering.

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

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