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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 Arlington tenants

In Arlington, our team likes to work with good tenants. Here are some 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 renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not misuse systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy 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. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain 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 tenant doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the home.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the home.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential tenants in Arlington based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential tenants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with us from the beginning, they will probably be rude as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding 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 if every action initially is promising we still check the background of each potential renter 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 Arlington: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

Arlington Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as property managers in Arlington and the information which 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 our local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for everyone who wants to learn more about Arlington and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has data about what has sold and what is on the market, and a few interesting facts that you might not be aware of.  Also, our Guide features quite a few of the benefits of residing in Arlington.  Of course, all of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but landlords and renters will probably also find this data to be very edifying.

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