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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 management staff prefers to deal with reliable renters. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant 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 is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not misuse the home.
  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 renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant 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 property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who measure 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 difficult 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 assess potential renters based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with us at the start, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a is dishonest, we will expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty during the lease.

But even if every appearance initially is good we still vet every potential renter with a full background check. Every applicant 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 complete we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as property 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.

Should you understand more about this local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for everyone who wants to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas.  The Guide to Real Estate includes information regarding what has sold and what is on the market, as well as many compelling facts that you may not be aware of.  Not to mention, our Guide highlights some fundamentals of residing in Northern Virginia.  Definitely, most of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but owners and tenants will probably also find this information 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