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Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

What we look for in Falls Church renters

In Falls Church, our team prefers to deal with reliable tenants. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  1. A tenant pays the rent on time every time. 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 tenant is reasonably clean. A tenant does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not break the property.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask 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 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 lease that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the rental.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential renters in Falls Church based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge people based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our staff from the beginning, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be unreliable as a tenant.  If a has a problem producing money for background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have problems during the lease.

But even when every action initially is good we still vet every applicant with a full background check. Every applicant and occupant must submit a government-issue photo identification. From there, as rental we start our vetting process.

How we protect the landlord’s interests in Falls Church: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

Falls Church Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as rental managers in Falls Church and the information which we have verified. Ultimately the real estate investor 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 this local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who wants to investigate real estate facts about Falls Church and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles information regarding what has sold and what is on the market, and a few interesting facts that you might not be aware of.  Not to mention, our Guide has some elements of living in Falls Church.  As a matter of course, most of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but owners and tenants may also find this data to be very eye-opening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will and Julie under the moon.
Nothing is better than family and friends.

"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