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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 Oakton renters

In Oakton, our team wants to deal with reasonable tenants. Here are some of the traits we expect.

  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 renter is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not damage the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to upgrade 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A renter does not smoke in the property.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the owner wants to rent the property.

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 renters 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 Oakton based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess people based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff at the start, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a is dishonest, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has troubles finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential renter will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even when every appearance initially is good we still check the background of every potential tenant with a complete background check. Every person 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 Oakton: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

Oakton Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as rental managers in Oakton 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.

Do you want know more about the local real estate market?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who needs to review important real estate information about Oakton and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has information about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as many surprising facts that you might not be aware of.  Not to mention, our Guide highlights quite a few of the fundamentals of life in Oakton.  Definitely, all of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but rental investors and tenants should also find this information to be quite 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 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