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

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

What we look for in Rockingham County tenants

In Rockingham County, Nesbitt Realty prefers to deal with reasonable tenants. 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 renter is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A tenant does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not destroy the home.
  5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant reports problems at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause problems for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to replace functioning systems. A tenant 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 tenant does not smoke in the home.
  10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the owner wants to rent the property.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that bad 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 people in Rockingham County based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however assess potential renters based upon their reputation and their actions. If a applicant is rude to our staff at the outset, they will probably be rude as tenants. If a makes false statements, we will expect them to be dishonest as a tenant.  If a has difficulty producing certified fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same person will have problems during the lease.

But even if every action initially is good we still check the background of every potential tenant with a full background check. Every potential tenant 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 Rockingham 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

Rockingham County Rental Management Resources

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as property managers in Rockingham County and the information which we have verified. Ultimately the real estate investor decides if the risk is worth taking, but they make that decision based upon facts and our expert advice.

Do you need know more about our area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for everyone who wants to investigate real estate facts about Rockingham County and neighboring communities.  The Guide to Real Estate includes information about what has sold and what is on the market, and a couple of surprising facts that you might not know.  Not to mention, our Guide highlights many of the aspects of life in Rockingham County.  Definitely, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but property owners and renters will likely also find the facts to be quite eye-opening.

Our Broker Will Nesbitt

Will and Julie at a Nationals Game
Will & Julie 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