SIGN-UP PROCESS & APPLICATION PROCESS
WHAT IS THE PROCESS IF I WANT YOU TO MANAGE MY PROPERTY?
We would setup a time to meet at your property. After seeing it, we can put together a plan for your house. At that time, we will talk about the range we think your house could rent for now, what type of work (if any) needs to be done to rent your house quickly, and any other liability issues that need to be addressed. We will answer any questions you have and walk you through the whole process. We view this as a long-term relationship, and we want you to know what you are getting into by renting your house.
for what length of time IS YOUR MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT?
Our management agreement is very similar to a lease. It is for one year and renews annually unless a 30-day notice is given by you, the owner, or by us, the management company.
WHAT KIND OF INSURANCE DO I NEED FOR YOU TO MANAGE MY PROPERTY?
You will need to change your insurance on the property from a homeowner's policy to a landlord's policy. We will require you to carry a minimum of $500,000 in liability coverage, but we recommend at least a $1,000,000 in coverage. We will go over all of this at our first meeting at your property.
CHECK OUT OUR VIDEOS
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DO I NEED TO KEEP THE UTILITIES ON IN MY NAME?
Yes, you will need to keep the utilities on in your name until the tenant moves in to the property. At that point, it is up to the tenant to get the utilities in their name. We require all of our owners to enroll in the Duke Energy "revert to owner" program. To learn more about this program, you can call Duke Energy at 800-777-9898 or you can download the "revert to owner" paperwork by clicking here.
WILL I GET END OF THE YEAR TAX DOCUMENTS?
Yes, we make tax time easy. In January of each year, you will receive your 1099 tax documents, as well as a full year income statement for the previous year.
HOW AND WHEN WILL I GET PAID?
In a normal month rent is due between the 1st and the 5th. We pay any bills on your account between the 7th and 10th, and then we pay our owners between the 12th and 15th. That is also when you will receive your monthly owner's statement. We also pay bills and vendors again at the end of the month.
I WAS NOT PAID THIS MONTH WHAT HAPPENeD?
Consult your owner's statement to see what happened. Most of the time non-payment means your tenant paid late and the money has not cleared our bank account in time to pay you. For example, your tenant paid on the 10th, but we paid our owners on the 12th. That means the funds did not clear in time, so we were not able to pay you. If that happened, you will be paid at the end of the month when we pay bills again.
IS THERE A MINIMUM AmOUT OF MONEY I NEED TO KEEP in MY ACCOUNT with you?
Yes, we require you to keep $500 in your account at all times. This is your money, but it gives us cash on hand if we have to file eviction paperwork or if we have a bill that comes in after we paid you your monthly funds.
HOW DO YOU SCREEN TENANTS?
We have developed our own application point system. You can see how we use this system on the rental page of our website. We do everything allowed by law to check out potential tenants. We do background checks, credit checks, rental references, and income verification. All investments carry a risk, but we try our best to screen out bad tenants from the start. We also have a VERY good track record with tenants that we approve for our rental homes. We do less than 1-2 evictions per year out of our almost 400 properties for the tenants that we have approved for a home.
WILL I GET A FINAL SAY ON THE TENANT THAT YOU APPROVE?
In accordance with fair housing laws, we make the final say on who is approved for a property, not our owners. For example, if we get two applications and one has children and the other does not and our owner says do not rent to the family with children, that could be a fair housing violation. Due to that, we process our applications on a first-come, first-serve basis. Again, we have a very good track record for the tenants we approve for our homes.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO FIND A TENANT?
It depends on the condition of the property and the rental amount. With our marketing, we are usually able to rent our properties within a few weeks.
Here is a sample of our video marketing:
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OWNER MONTHLY QUESTIONS
HOW WILL I GET PAID?
We will set you up on ACH payments. We will deposit your monthly rent payment into your checking account.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU INSPECT THE PROPERTY?
We will send you a private pre-move in video a few days before your tenant moves in to the property. After that we try to inspect your house once or twice a year. Once your tenant moves out, we will provide you with another private move-out video, so you can see in real time how the property looks. All of this is included in our normal fees. We do not charge any hidden or extra fees for inspections like this.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED AT MY PROPERTY?
We are allowed to make repairs that are under $250. Anything over that (unless it is an emergency) we will send you an estimate prior to making the repairs. You need to have the funds in your account for us to move forward with the repair. You can easily put funds in your account through your online owner portal.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE TENANT DOES NOT PAY THEIR RENT?
Rent is due between the 1st and 5th of each month. We charge late fees as of the 6th of the month or the next business day. We also send out late notices at that time. If they have not paid by the 10th of the month, we start the court eviction process. Keep in mind, even though we have started the court proceedings, if the tenant pays their balance, we can cancel the court proceedings at any time.
WHAT IS THE COURT PROCESS IF THE TENANT DOES NOT PAY, AND IS THERE ANY COST TO ME FOR THAT?
In N.C. it usually takes two months once the tenant has not paid to complete the eviction process. We do not charge you any fees to handle this process for you. You do have to pay the court's filing fees and the Sheriff's fees for conducting the eviction.
HOW DO YOU PICK YOUR CONTRACTORS?
We are always looking for good contractors to provide services at the properties we manage. Many times we get these contractors through word of mouth or they contact us. We require all vendors we use to have both General Liability Insurance and Worker's Compensation Insurance.
WILL I STILL NEED TO PAY THE INSURANCE, TAXES, AND HOA BILLS EACH MONTH?
Yes, you still need to pay these each month.
CAN I HANDLE GETTING WORK DONE AT MY PROPERTY?
Yes, if you want to use a contractor that is not set up in our system, you can handle the work request. You will also need to pay the contractor. Keep in mind, the repair you made will not show up on your end of year income statement from us, so you will need to keep up with it.
HOW DOES THE LEASE RENEWAL PROCESS WORK?
We require all of our tenants to give us a 60-day notice if they are going to move out of the property. We start calling tenants around the 90-day mark before their lease ends to see if they would like to renew. If they would like to stay, we will contact you and start negotiating the new rent, and we will have them sign a new lease. Many of our tenants have been with us for years, and we always try to keep them and ensure they are on a current lease.
WHEN THE TENANT MOVES OUT, WHAT IS YOUR TURNOVER PROCESS?
They should give us a 60-day notice that they will be moving out of the property. We will let you, the owner, know as soon as we know. We will see if the tenant will allow showings, and if so, we will start marketing the property for a new tenant. Our goal is to have a new tenant in place before the old tenant moves out of the property. We will need at least a week between tenants to make sure the property is move-in ready.
I AM THINKING OF SELLING. CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THAT?
Sure, give us a call, and we can look into that for you. Our number is 336-939-6275.