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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 renters

In Northern Virginia, Nesbitt Realty wants to work with good renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. A renter 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 bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to work with. A tenant understands 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 property owners money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the owner 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 unreasonable renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out troublesome 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 judge applicants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff at the outset, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have problems during the lease.

But even when every statement initially is good we still check the background of every person with a complete background check. Every person 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 landlord based upon our experience as property managers in Northern Virginia and the information that 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 helpful tool for everyone who hopes to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas.  The Guide to Real Estate includes data regarding what has sold and what is for sale, and a few surprising facts that you might not be aware of.  Not to mention, our Guide features quite a few of the assets of life in Northern Virginia.  Definitely, all of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but landlords and renters will likely also find the facts to be very enlightening.

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

Realtor 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