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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 deal with good tenants. Here are some of the traits we expect.

  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 tenant is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage the home.
  5. A tenant 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 renter 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 tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask 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 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 tardy renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in Arlington based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge people based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with us from the start, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a makes false statements, we will expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has difficulty scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty during the lease.

But even if every appearance initially is good we still vet each applicant with a full background check. Every potential renter 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 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 Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as property managers in Arlington 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.

Do you want know more about this community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for anyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Arlington and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles information about what has sold and what is on the market, and a few shocking facts that you may not be aware of.  In addition, our Guide highlights some fundamentals of residing in Arlington.  As a matter of course, all of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but rental investors and tenants will likely also find these tools to be very informative.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt at Mason Neck
Will Nesbitt is here when you need him.

"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