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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 likes to deal with reliable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  1. A renter 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 is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not misuse systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains at appropriate times. tenants 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 demand to upgrade 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 renter does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the property.

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 troublesome renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out bad tenants.

 

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 judge potential tenants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our managers from the outset, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has a problem producing fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same person will have troubles while they are in the rental.

But even when every action initially is promising we still vet every person 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 landlord based upon our experience as rental 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 this community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for anyone who needs to find out more about Northern Virginia and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate includes information about what has sold and what is on the market, and a couple of shocking facts that you may not know.  Also, our Guide has some benefits of living in Northern Virginia.  Definitely, most of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but rental investors and renters will likely also find these tools to be quite enlightening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will and Julie
On the boat at Sunset

"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