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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 City of Falls Church tenants

In City of Falls Church, our management staff wants to deal with reasonable renters. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  1. A tenant pays the rent on time 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 neat. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not damage the property.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to upgrade functioning systems. A renter doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A renter 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 rental.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor 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 tenants can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out unreasonable tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge applicants in City of Falls Church based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential renters based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers from the beginning, they will probably be difficult as renters. If a is dishonest, we will expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has troubles finding certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have troubles while they are in the rental.

But even if every statement initially is promising we still check the background of every person with a complete background check. Every applicant 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 City of 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

City of Falls Church Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as property managers in City of Falls Church and the information which 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 community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for everyone who hopes to learn more about City of Falls Church and neighboring areas.  The Guide to Real Estate includes data about what has sold and what is for sale, and a couple of interesting facts that you may not know.  Furthermore, our Guide has many of the elements of residing in City of Falls Church.  As might be expected, most of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but property owners and tenants may also find these tools to be somewhat 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, a Realtor with experience in Northern Virginia

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