(703)765-0300

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

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

What we look for in Stephens City tenants

In Stephens City, our management staff wants to work with reasonable tenants. Here are some 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 renter has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A tenant is fussy about cleanliness. A tenant does not attract pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not misuse systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to work with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe 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 renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
  9. A tenant does not smoke in the home.
  10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the home.

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 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 people in Stephens City based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential renters based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us at the outset, they will probably be trying as renters. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has difficulty producing certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same applicant will have problems during the lease.

But even when every action initially is promising we still vet every person with a full 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 Stephens City: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

Stephens City Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as rental managers in Stephens City and the information that we have verified. Ultimately the property owner 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 local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for everyone who hopes to investigate real estate facts about Stephens City and surrounding areas.  The Guide to Real Estate has information about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as a few compelling facts that you might not be aware of.  And, our Guide has quite a few of the assets of residing in Stephens City.  Of course, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but owners and renters might also find these resources to be very enlightening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt is here when you need us.

"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 and Will
Julie and Will Nesbitt pause from property management to take a quick picture.

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