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Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

What we look for in Northern Virginia renters

In Northern Virginia, our management staff wants to deal with dependable renters. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant pays the rent when due every month. 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-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage the property or its systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy 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 gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to upgrade functioning systems. A tenant 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 renter does not smoke in the home.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the property.

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 bad renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out tardy 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 people based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff from the start, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a is caught fabricating facts, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has troubles producing fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential tenant will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even if every appearance initially is good we still vet every applicant with a complete background check. Every applicant and occupant must provide 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 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 understand more about this local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for anyone who hopes to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles information about what has sold and what is for sale, and some interesting facts that you may not be aware of.  In addition, our Guide has quite a few of the assets of life in Northern Virginia.  Yes, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but property owners and tenants will likely also find these resources to be quite enlightening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt Aubrey Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt Aubrey 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 Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt Aubrey Nesbitt

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