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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 Fairlington renters

In Fairlington, our team likes to work with reasonable renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. A renter 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 tenant is honest. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't disturb 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 gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter does not smoke in the property.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the owner 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 bad tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out bad tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential renters in Fairlington 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 rude to our staff at the start, they will probably be rude as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has a problem scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same person will have difficulty during the lease.

But even when every statement initially is promising we still check the background of each person with a complete 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 Fairlington: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

Fairlington Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Fairlington 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 know more about this area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for anyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Fairlington and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes facts about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as some compelling facts that you may not be aware of.  Not to mention, our Guide has some elements of residing in Fairlington.  Of course, all of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but property owners and renters will likely also find this data to be somewhat useful.

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 and Will
Julie and Will Nesbitt pause from property management to take a quick picture.

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