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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 West McLean renters

In West McLean, Nesbitt Realty likes to deal with reliable renters. Here are a few of the traits we seek out.

  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 has integrity. A renter does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is fussy about cleanliness. 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 renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to replace 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 home.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the rental.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in West McLean based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential tenants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers at the start, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a lies, we will expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has a problem scrounging up certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have troubles during the lease.

But even when every appearance initially is good we still vet every applicant 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 West 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

West McLean Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as property managers in West McLean 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 want understand more about our area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for everyone who hopes to learn more about West McLean and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate provides data about what has sold and what is on the market, and a few surprising facts that you might not know.  In addition, our Guide features many of the fundamentals of living in West McLean.  Definitely, most of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but property owners and tenants will likely also find the facts to be very edifying.

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