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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, Nesbitt Realty likes to deal with good renters. Here are some 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 renter is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is neat. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not overwork 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 bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants 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 renter doesn't ask to replace 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 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 property.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that tardy renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out bad 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 potential renters based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our managers at the start, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has troubles finding certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have troubles during the lease.

But even if every action initially is good we still vet each applicant with a complete background check. Every potential tenant 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 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 property owner decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Do you want understand more about the area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for everyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes facts regarding what has sold and what is for sale, as well as a few surprising facts that you may not know.  And, our Guide features quite a few of the aspects of residing in Northern Virginia.  Of course, all of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but landlords and tenants might also find these resources to be quite eye-opening.

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