What we seek in Northern Virginia tenants
In Northern Virginia, our management staff prefers to work with reliable renters. Here are some of the traits we expect.
- A reliable renter pays the rent when due every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
- An ideal renter has integrity. An ideal renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
- A good renter is neat. A trustworthy tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
- A trustworthy renter does not destroy the property or its systems.
- A reliable renter is courteous and nice to work with. A good renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
- A trustworthy tenant doesn't annoy neighbors.
- A reliable renter reports problems at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
- A trustworthy tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a reliable tenant doesn't ask to upgrade functioning systems. A great tenant doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A trustworthy renter doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
- A great tenant does not smoke in the property.
- A good renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the property.
So this is what we're looking for in a tenant, but how do we find renters who measure up to this ideal? Experience has taught us that unreasonable renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with great jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out unreasonable tenants.
Our Five Step Process
Fair Housing Laws and our conscience dictates that we do not judge people in Northern Virginia based upon appearance. Experience has taught us that appearances can be very decieving. We do however judge applicants based upon their history and their actions. If a applicant is difficult with our managers at the outset, they will probably be trying as renters. If a potential tenant is caught fabricating facts, we can expect them to be untrustworthy as a renter. If a potential renter has difficulty finding fundsfor background fees and the first month of rent, we will expect that same applicant will have troubles while they are in the rental.
But even when every statement initially is promising we still vet every potential renter with a complete background check. Every applicant and occupant must submit a government-issue photo identification. From there, as rental we start our vetting process.
How we protect the landlord’s interests in Northern Virginia:
Northern Virginia Property Management Resources
Basics
Basic info about what rental managment in Northern Virginia.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with rental property management
Find A Tenant
List your property to rent to find a great tenant in Northern Virginia fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for property owners?
Cost
A list of fees associated with property management services in Northern Virginia
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty vets renters for our clients.
Reserves
What is a contingency reserve account?
Territory
Where does Nesbitt Realty manage property?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Landlord Reference
a free reference for landlords in Northern Virginia
- Before you rent out your rental in Northern Virginia
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the renter
- During tenancy
- End of lease term and what happens when a renter breaks the lease
- How does the landlord get paid?
- How your rental manager handles the association and your community
- How your property manager handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management finds tenants
- Insurance matters for property owners using our rental management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Northern Virginia property owner responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental property in Northern Virginia
- The move-in inspection
- Property management information form
- Selling a 1031 tax exchange & more
- Starting our management of your rental property
- When landlords don't yet know their new address
- Vetting tenants in Northern Virginia
More Information About Northern Virginia
Our recommendation
After the background check is reviewed we make a recommendation to the real estate investor based upon our experience as property managers in Northern Virginia and the information that we have verified. Ultimately the owner 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 local real estate market?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for anyone who needs to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and nearby communities. The Guide to Real Estate provides information about what has sold and what is currently listed, and a couple of interesting facts that you may not know. Furthermore, our Guide features quite a few of the assets of life in Northern Virginia. As a matter of course, most of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but property owners and tenants will probably also find this data to be somewhat useful.
Our Broker 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

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