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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 Lorton tenants

In Lorton, our management staff prefers to work with dependable renters. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  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 trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not misuse the home.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to work with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A renter complains 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 complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask to replace functioning systems. A tenant doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A tenant 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 renter 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 renter, but how do we find tenants who measure up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that troublesome renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out unreasonable renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

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

But even if every action initially is good we still check the background of every potential tenant with a complete background check. Every potential tenant 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 Lorton: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

Lorton 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 Lorton and the information that we have verified. Ultimately the real estate investor 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 community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who wants to learn more about Lorton and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles information regarding what has sold and what is for sale, as well as a couple of compelling facts that you may not know.  And, our Guide has quite a few of the fundamentals of life in Lorton.  Definitely, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but landlords and tenants might also find this information to be quite edifying.

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 Nesbitt
Julie Nesbitt sold another!

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