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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, our team 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 tenant has integrity. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is neat. A tenant does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the property or its systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and easy to get along 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 when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to upgrade functioning systems. A renter 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 home.
  10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find renters 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 nose for sniffing out bad 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 applicants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our managers from the beginning, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a is dishonest, we will expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has difficulty producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same potential renter will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even when every action initially is promising we still check the background of every applicant with a complete background check. Every person 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 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 Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as property managers in Reston and the information that 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.

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

Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for anyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Reston and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has information regarding what has sold and what is on the market, as well as many surprising facts that you might not be aware of.  Also, our Guide spotlights many of the aspects of life in Reston.  As a matter of course, most of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but owners and renters 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

Realtors in the Shenandoah Valley
Will and Julie on Woodstock Tower

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