WELCOME HOME RENTALS

Why should I use a professional service for my rental?  It's just collecting rent each month right?!  

No!  Being a landlord is much more complicated than just collecting the rent.  Not only are there laws to abide by, (Landlord/Tenant Law, Fair Housing, Contract Law, Banking Law, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Tenant Screening Act-to name just a few!) but there are many more "good practices" that are already established by good Property Management companies to help keep you out of court.  Case law is important to know, this dictates how a specific law is going to be enforced in a specific area, but sometimes only in that specific area.  Did you know that the protected classes are different in some cities?!  Yes, a city can add a subset of individuals as a protected class, as a landlord you are expected to know which ones and act acordingly.  Do you want to get that midnight call about the flooding toilet?  I do!  It is our job to take that call and do everything we can to help the resident and save the home from any and all additional damage.  Let us handle the day to day, get your statement and check once a month and call it good!

 

How much does professional property management cost for a rental?

As much as I would love to give you an exact answer, the true answer is-it depends.  Different owners need different things and therefore would need to be charged different amounts.  For example, an owner who just wants to be completely hands off and therefore it is very easy to manage his property shouldn't have to pay the same amount as an owner who wants to get multiple bids for every project and needs to review their statement via the phone each month.  Each owner gets what they need to make the process feel comfortable for them, and they get a management plan based upon their specific needs and desires.  Having said that, there is a reasonability range, monthly management fees go from 10% of the monthly rent to 12% of the monthly rent.  This is for full service management.  For just lease-up or other piece mail services the fees vary by what the owner is asking for.

 

What services are covered in the full service rental management fee?

Many services are covered!  Again, the services are tailored to what the owner needs, but we can handle everything!  These items include but are not limited to:

• Complete turnover/rehab services-whatever is needed to get your home ready for your new resident (there is no extra charge for this!  We will get all bids and walk all work to ensure quality)

• Full marketing on multiple web pages in different formats to try and catch different types of clients

• Thorough screening of all applicants (credit, criminal, income, rental history, terrorist database, eviction database)

• Rental Agreement signing, collection of all up front charges

• Thorough move-in inspection (to include pictures)

• Rent collection and enforcement of non-payment

• Random drive by of occupied home to ensure it is being maintained properly

• Regular interior inspections of occupied home

• All maintenance (big & small), including emergency on-call

• Paying all bills associated with the home (mortgage, HOA dues/assessments, insurance, taxes, utilities, and more)

• Thorough move-out inspection (to include pictures)

• Security deposit refund/balance to vacating resident and pursuing any outstanding balance

• MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!!! Treat your resident with respect, compassion, integrity & transparency.  Keeping your resident happy has to be made a priority to keep your vacancy time as low as possible and as much money in your pocket as possible.  Also, they deserve it!

 

Should we be raising rents?

Most of the time, the answer is yes.  You must incrementally raise the rent as your investment costs you more each year.  Your insurance, taxes & cost of maintenance go up each year, so you must keep up with the expense of owning your investment.  If you don't give small increases each year you may find yourself so far behind the curve that you have to give a large increase, this isn't good for you or your resident.  There are times that a rent increase isn't appropriate and they must be taken on a case-by-case basis.  There is also a delicate balance between keeping up with the market without scaring away good residents.