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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 Great Falls tenants

In Great Falls, our team wants to deal with good renters. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  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 has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not destroy the home.
  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 annoy 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 tenant doesn't demand to replace 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 property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that tardy tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out tardy renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in Great Falls based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge people based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers from the start, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a makes false statements, we can expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has a problem scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have troubles while they are in the rental.

But even when every action initially is good we still check the background of each person with a complete background check. Every person and occupant must submit a government-issue photo identification. From there, as property managers we start our vetting process.

How we protect the landlord’s interests in Great Falls: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

Great Falls Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

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

Should you know more about our local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for everyone who needs to review important real estate information about Great Falls and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has facts about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as some compelling facts that you might not be aware of.  In addition, our Guide has quite a few of the benefits of living in Great Falls.  Definitely, all of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but rental investors and tenants will likely also find this data to be somewhat eye-opening.

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