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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 work with dependable tenants. Here are some 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 honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is fastidious. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not misuse systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A renter complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to replace 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who measure up to this standard? Experience has taught us that difficult renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out unreasonable tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential tenants in Northern Virginia based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential tenants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us at the beginning, they will probably be rude as renters. If a lies, we can expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has difficulty finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same person will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even if every action initially is promising we still check the background of each potential renter with a complete background check. Every potential tenant 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 Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished 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 owner decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Should you understand more about the area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who needs to find out more about Northern Virginia and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a couple of compelling facts that you may not know.  In addition, our Guide features quite a few of the benefits of life in Northern Virginia.  Of course, most of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants should also find the facts to be very useful.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Sometimes negotiations get heated

"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 can help!

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