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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 Merrifield renters

In Merrifield, our team prefers to deal with reliable tenants. Here are some of the traits we expect.

  1. A renter 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 tenant has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not destroy the home.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't ask to upgrade 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter 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 rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find tenants who live 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 knack for sniffing out bad renters.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential renters in Merrifield based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential tenants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff at the start, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a is dishonest, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has difficulty scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every action initially is promising we still check the background of each potential tenant with a complete background check. Every potential tenant 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 Merrifield: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

Merrifield Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as rental managers in Merrifield and the information which we have verified. Ultimately the property owner decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Do you need understand more about our local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for everyone who wants to find out more about Merrifield and neighboring areas.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles facts about what has sold and what is on the market, and a couple of shocking facts that you might not be aware of.  Furthermore, our Guide has quite a few of the benefits of life in Merrifield.  Definitely, all of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but rental investors and tenants should also find this information to be very 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

Will and Julie
On the boat at Sunset

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