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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 team prefers to work with good renters. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  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 has integrity. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is fastidious. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage the property or its systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask to replace 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter does not smoke in the property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the home.

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

 

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 people based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff from the outset, they will probably be rude as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we will expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has difficulty producing fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have problems during the lease.

But even when every appearance initially is good we still vet every potential tenant 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 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 this community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for everyone who hopes to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and nearby areas.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles data regarding what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a couple of surprising facts that you might not know.  Not to mention, our Guide has some assets of residing in Northern Virginia.  Certainly, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants might also find this data to be very sobering.

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

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