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

What we look for in Frederick County renters

In Frederick County, our team prefers to work with good tenants. Here are a few of the traits we look for.

  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 renter is fastidious. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not misuse systems.
  5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to work with. A tenant understands 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 issues for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to replace 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 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 lease 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 live up to this standard? 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 difficult tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential tenants in Frederick County based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess people based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers from the outset, they will probably be troublesome as renters. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a tenant.  If a has a problem finding money for background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same applicant will have troubles during the lease.

But even if every action initially is good we still vet each person with a complete background check. Every potential renter 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 Frederick County: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

Frederick County Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the landlord based upon our experience as rental managers in Frederick County 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 understand more about the community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for anyone who needs to find out more about Frederick County and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate has data regarding what has sold and what is for sale, and many interesting facts that you might not know.  In addition, our Guide has quite a few of the aspects of residing in Frederick County.  Definitely, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants might also find these tools to be quite useful.

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

Will Nesbitt Julie Nesbitt
Will 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