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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 Alexandria renters

In Alexandria, our team wants to deal with reasonable renters. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant pays the rent when due every time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A renter is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the property or its systems.
  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 disturb 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 tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand 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 property.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that unreasonable 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 Alexandria 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 difficult with our staff from the start, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a lies, we will expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has a problem producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even if every action initially is good we still vet every potential tenant with a full background check. Every potential renter and occupant must provide a government-issue photo identification. From there, as property managers we start our vetting process.

How we protect the landlord’s interests in Alexandria: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

Alexandria Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Alexandria and the information that 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 the community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for anyone who wants to investigate real estate facts about Alexandria and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides information regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, and some compelling facts that you might not know.  Furthermore, our Guide features some fundamentals of life in Alexandria.  Of course, most of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but landlords 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

Will Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt Aubrey Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt Aubrey Nesbitt

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