Questions and Answers for Owners

What are landlords, tenants, and property managers?

• The landlord is the owner of the property, the tenant is the person who is currently renting it, and the property manager is the person who handles all the business dealing with the lease.

How much will my property rent for?

• We conduct a thorough analysis of the property comparing it to what other properties in the area have rented for. This will give us a suggested starting range. Then the advertised rate is up to you. Depending on the time frame of how quickly you would like to rent the property you can start higher in the range or lower. We will know very quickly whether the advertised rate is going to secure a tenant quickly, and can adjust accordingly if your wish is to fill the vacancy as fast as possible. We generally feel it is a better financial decision to secure a tenant quickly, rather than lose potential monthly rent, but the decision is always yours.

How much should the deposit requirement be?

• While a full month deposit would be ideal, most tenants shy away from such a large amount and this will eliminate many potential renters. We generally feel that it is more important to get a tenant in quickly and increase the investment property's return. On most properties, we have had success with asking for a half month's rent, but the decision is always yours. The lease contract states that damages are not limited by the deposit and additional recovery beyond the deposit amount is available.

Should I allow pets/smoking?

• The more allowances you offer the more potential renters you will attract. But you have to look at it from an investment return standpoint. If you have a fully carpeted new home and the tenant smokes and has 4 large dogs, even an extra $1000 deposit will not cover the carpet replacement cost if that becomes necessary. If your home has hardwood floors or older carpets it would be beneficial to offer more allowances.

Should I allow tenants to paint?

• If you plan to keep the property as an investment for any length of time beyond a year or two, it is a very good idea to allow painting. A tenant who wants to paint takes mental ownership of the property and is more likely to stay your tenant. The less downtime between tenants, the more cash in your pocket. Allowing painting with approved colors is often a good compromise, and tenants rarely have a problem with this.

Should I hire a lawn service or require the tenant to maintain the lawn?

• We rarely have problems with tenants being unwilling to maintain the lawn, and it is usually a good idea to require them to do so in the lease. A possible exception may be in high end neighorborhoods with covenants. In this case it might be beneficial to include lawn service and add it into the rental rate. We also contact the HOA to give a copy of the lease when it is required.  When speaking with a board member we usually ask about lawn standards and request them to notify us if they experience any issues with the new tenant.