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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 East Falls Church tenants

In East Falls Church, Nesbitt Realty prefers to work with dependable renters. Here are some of the traits we expect.

  1. A renter 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 tenant is trustworthy. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is neat. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not overwork systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to get along with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A renter doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand to replace 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 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 rental term that is as long as the property owner 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 ideal? Experience has taught us that difficult renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a nose for sniffing out troublesome tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in East Falls Church based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential tenants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff from the beginning, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a lies, we will expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same person will have problems while they are in the rental.

But even if every statement initially is promising we still check the background of every applicant with a full background check. Every potential tenant and occupant must provide a government-issue photo identification. From there, as property managers we start our vetting process.

How we protect the landlord’s interests in East 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

East Falls Church Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as rental managers in East Falls Church and the information that 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.

Should you know more about this community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for everyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about East Falls Church and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate provides facts regarding what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a few shocking facts that you might not be aware of.  Not to mention, our Guide features some assets of life in East Falls Church.  Of course, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but landlords and renters will likely also find this information to be very eye-opening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt is the principal broker of Nesbitt Realty.

"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