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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, our team wants to deal with reasonable tenants. Here are a few 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 renter is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A renter does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not misuse systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain 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 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 rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that difficult tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out tardy 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 reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with us from the start, they will probably be rude as renters. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has troubles producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have troubles while they are in the rental.

But even when every action initially is good 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 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 Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

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

Do you need know more about our community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who hopes to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has information about what has sold and what is for sale, and many interesting facts that you may not be aware of.  Not to mention, our Guide spotlights many of the aspects of life in Northern Virginia.  Of course, all of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but rental investors and renters will also find the facts 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

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