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

What we seek in Woodville tenants

In Woodville, our management staff likes to work with reliable renters. Here are some of the traits we look for.

  1. A tenant pays the rent when due every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A tenant is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not misuse the property.
  5. A renter is courteous and easy to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A renter complains when appropriate. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause issues for property managers.
  8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask 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 tenant does not smoke in the home.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease 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 tenants 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 tardy tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in Woodville based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess applicants based upon their track record and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us at the beginning, they will probably be trying as renters. If a lies, we will expect them to be dishonest as a renter.  If a has troubles producing certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential renter will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even if every statement initially is good we still vet each potential renter with a complete background check. Every applicant 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 Woodville: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

Woodville Property Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as rental managers in Woodville 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 our local real estate market?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for everyone who hopes to learn more about Woodville and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes facts regarding what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a couple of interesting facts that you may not know.  And, our Guide features quite a few of the benefits of life in Woodville.  As a matter of course, most of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but landlords and tenants should also find these tools to be quite enlightening.

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

Realtors in the Shenandoah Valley
Will and Julie on Woodstock Tower

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