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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 Prince William County tenants

In Prince William County, our team wants to work with good renters. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  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 has integrity. A renter 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 work 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 when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to upgrade functioning systems. A tenant 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 lease that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the property.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in Prince William County 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 rude to us from the beginning, they will probably be troublesome as tenants. If a lies, we can expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has troubles finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have troubles during the lease.

But even if every action initially is promising we still check the background of every potential tenant with a full 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 Prince William 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

Prince William County Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as property managers in Prince William County 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 local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for everyone who wants to review important real estate information about Prince William County and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has information regarding what has sold and what is on the market, as well as many shocking facts that you may not know.  Not to mention, our Guide spotlights some elements of living in Prince William County.  Certainly, all of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but owners and tenants will likely also find the facts to be very sobering.

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