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

What we look for in Alexandria tenants

In Alexandria, Nesbitt Realty wants to work with reasonable tenants. 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 tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
  3. A renter is reasonably clean. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
  4. A tenant does not damage systems.
  5. A renter is courteous and nice to get along with. A tenant understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
  6. A tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
  7. A tenant 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 upgrade 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 tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the property owner wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find renters 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 troublesome tenants.

 

Our Five Step Process

Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge potential renters in Alexandria based upon appearance.  Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge potential renters based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is rude to us from the start, they will probably be trying as tenants. If a is dishonest, we will expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter.  If a has troubles producing fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we can expect that same potential tenant will have difficulty while they are in the rental.

But even if every statement initially is promising we still vet every potential tenant with a complete background check. Every potential renter 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 Alexandria: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

Alexandria Property Management Resources

Basics

Basic information regarding management services in Alexandria.

Learn More

Getting Started

Learn more about getting started with property management

Learn More

Find A Tenant

List your property to rent to find a great tenant in Alexandria fast.

Learn More

Accounting

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

Learn More

Cost

A breakdown of prices of property management services in Alexandria

Learn More

Vetting

How Nesbitt Realty vets renters for property owners.

Learn More

Reserves

What is a contingency reserve account?

Learn More

Territory

Where does Nesbitt Realty manage rental property?

Learn More

Clients

Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?

Learn More

Contact

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

Email

Our recommendation

After the background check is complete we make a recommendation to the property owner based upon our experience as property managers in Alexandria 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 need know more about this area?

Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for everyone who needs to review important real estate information about Alexandria and surrounding communities.  The Guide to Real Estate compiles facts about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as some shocking facts that you may not know.  In addition, our Guide has some fundamentals of life in Alexandria.  As a matter of course, most of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but property owners and renters should also find these tools to be quite useful.

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

Realtor 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