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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 Washington tenants

In Washington, our management staff prefers to deal with reasonable renters. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

  1. A renter 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 renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is neat. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not destroy the property or its 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 tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A renter complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant 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 renter does not smoke in the home.
  10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the property.

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

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in Washington based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge applicants based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers from the beginning, they will probably be rude as renters. If a is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be unreliable as a renter.  If a has difficulty scrounging up fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same person will have difficulty during the lease.

But even if every action initially is promising we still vet each applicant with a complete background check. Every person and occupant must submit a government-issue photo identification. From there, as property managers we start our vetting process.

How we protect the landlord’s interests in Washington: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

Washington Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Washington 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 the community?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for anyone who wants to review important real estate information about Washington and nearby communities.  The Guide to Real Estate has information regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, and some surprising facts that you might not be aware of.  Also, our Guide has many of the fundamentals of living in Washington.  Definitely, most of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but rental investors and renters will also find this information to be somewhat informative.

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

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