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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 Reston tenants

In Reston, Nesbitt Realty likes to work with reasonable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  1. A tenant 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 tenant is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is fastidious. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not overwork systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to work 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 renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter 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 rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the owner 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 ideal? 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 unreasonable tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in Reston based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential renters based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff from the start, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a is caught fabricating facts, we will expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has a problem scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same person will have problems during the lease.

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

Reston Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as property managers in Reston and the information which 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 this community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for everyone who hopes to find out more about Reston and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides data about what has sold and what is for sale, and some surprising facts that you may not be aware of.  And, our Guide has many of the fundamentals of living in Reston.  Definitely, all of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but property owners and renters may also find the facts to be somewhat informative.

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