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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 Centreville renters

In Centreville, our team likes to deal with reliable renters. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  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 has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is neat. A tenant does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not damage the property.
  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 annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask 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 home.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find tenants who measure up to this standard? Experience has taught us that unreasonable tenants 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 applicants in Centreville based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess applicants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff at the outset, they will probably be difficult as tenants. If a lies, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has a problem producing fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have difficulty during the lease.

But even when every appearance initially is good we still vet every potential tenant with a complete background check. Every applicant 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 Centreville: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

Centreville Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

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

Should you understand more about the community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for anyone who hopes to investigate real estate facts about Centreville and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes facts about what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as many interesting facts that you might not be aware of.  In addition, our Guide spotlights quite a few of the aspects of life in Centreville.  As might be expected, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but landlords and tenants will likely also find these resources to be somewhat 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

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