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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 Shirlington tenants

In Shirlington, Nesbitt Realty likes to deal with reliable renters. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  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 honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant 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 damage the property or its systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A renter reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the rental.

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 difficult renters 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 applicants in Shirlington based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential renters based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us from the start, they will probably be trying as renters. If a lies, we can expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has a problem scrounging up money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential tenant will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even when every statement initially is promising we still check the background of each potential tenant 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 Shirlington: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

Shirlington Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

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

Do you need know more about this area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who hopes to investigate real estate facts about Shirlington and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes information about what has sold and what is on the market, and many compelling facts that you might not know.  In addition, our Guide features quite a few of the elements of residing in Shirlington.  Certainly, most of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but landlords and tenants will likely also find this data to be very useful.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt Julie 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 and Julie under the moon.
Nothing is better than family and friends.

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