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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 McLean tenants

In McLean, Nesbitt Realty prefers to work with reliable tenants. Here are some of the traits we expect.

  1. A tenant pays the rent when due 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 renter is neat. A renter does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not overwork the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords 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 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 renter does not smoke in the rental.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the property.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential tenants in McLean 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 difficult with us at the outset, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a is dishonest, we can 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 can expect that same applicant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every appearance initially is promising we still check the background of each potential renter with a full background check. Every applicant and occupant must provide a government-issue photo identification. From there, as rental we start our vetting process.

How we protect the landlord’s interests in McLean: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

McLean Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as rental managers in McLean 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 the local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for everyone who needs to learn more about McLean and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has data regarding what has sold and what is for sale, as well as a couple of compelling facts that you may not be aware of.  Furthermore, our Guide has some elements of life in McLean.  Yes, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but property owners and renters will likely also find the facts to be somewhat eye-opening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt with Julie

"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 & Grover
Julie

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