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

What we look for in Northern Virginia tenants

In Northern Virginia, Nesbitt Realty wants to deal with reasonable tenants. Here are a few of the traits we expect.

  1. A renter pays the rent when due every time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
  2. A tenant is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
  3. A tenant is fastidious. A renter does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A renter does not misuse the property.
  5. A tenant is courteous and nice to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't bother neighbors.
  7. A renter reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause head-aches for property managers.
  8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand 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 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 standard? 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 tardy tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

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

But even when every appearance initially is good we still check the background of each applicant with a complete background check. Every potential renter 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 Northern Virginia: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

Northern Virginia Rental Management Resources

Basics

Basic information about what rental managment in Northern Virginia.

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Getting Started

Learn more about getting started with rental property management

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Find A Tenant

List your property to rent to find a dependable renter in Northern Virginia fast.

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Accounting

How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for property owners?

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Cost

An overview of prices of rental management services in Northern Virginia

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Vetting

How Nesbitt Realty checks the backgrounds of renters for our clients.

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Reserves

What is a contingency reserve account?

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Territory

Where does Nesbitt Realty manage rentals?

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Clients

Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?

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Contact

Call (703)765-0300 to speak to a property manager now.

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Our recommendation

After the background check is finished we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as property managers in Northern Virginia and the information that 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 the community?

Our Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for anyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Northern Virginia and neighboring areas.  The Guide to Real Estate has information regarding what has sold and what is for sale, as well as a couple of surprising facts that you might not be aware of.  Not to mention, our Guide has many of the assets of living in Northern Virginia.  As might be expected, all of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but owners and tenants will also find these tools to be very edifying.

Our Broker 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