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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 team likes to deal with good tenants. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  1. A renter 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-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not misuse the property or its systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to replace 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who measure up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that unreasonable 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 people in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential renters based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff at the beginning, they will probably be rude as renters. If a makes false statements, we will expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has difficulty scrounging up certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential renter will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every statement initially is promising we still check the background of each potential tenant with a complete background check. Every applicant 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 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 need know more about our area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who hopes to learn more about Northern Virginia and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has information regarding what has sold and what is on the market, and a few interesting facts that you might not know.  And, our Guide features quite a few of the aspects of living in Northern Virginia.  Yes, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but rental investors and renters will probably also find these tools 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

Will Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt
Julie and Will Nesbitt

 I like tenants that pay on time. Late paying tenants cause extra work and unnecessary stress for landlords and property managers. ~ Julie Nesbitt