FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT SORT OF RESTRICTIONS CAN I IMPOSE ON A TENANT? - Usually when we get this question, an owner is really asking who can I keep out. We follow all government laws and guidelines. If you are going to be in the rental business you can not afford to biased. It isn't worth it. Every demographic group, rich or otherwise, has it's percentage of problem tenants. However, if you are referring to unprotected classes such as pets, smokers, drug dealers etc., then yes you have a choice. You can always impose any restriction you like that deals directly with the property and not the tenant. Restrictions on alterations to the property, number of vehicles, size and type of vehicles (no planes or tanks), landscaping, wallpaper, painting etc.

HOW CAN I BE SURE THE TENANT WILL MAINTAIN MY PROPERTY? - Being a landlord and having rentals is a 'business'. With any business or investment there comes with it a certain amount of risk. The most realistic answer to the question is that you "can't be sure" of anything. However, you can take the necessary steps to reduce your risk by using a property manager that checks a tenants background, makes them sign a solid lease agreement, and checks on the tenant periodically. Always prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It's only a small percentage of people that do major amounts of harm to a property. On the other hand, there is also a small percentage of tenants that will go out of their way to improve the property like putting in landscaping, footing the bill for painting, or putting in a patio or driveway. Most people fall in the middle. There are no guarantees in life.

WHAT DO YOU CHARGE WHEN THE PROPERTY IS VACANT? - We only charge a Management Fee on collected rents. So, if a property is vacant there normally isn't any charge. However, that is not to say that you may elect to spend money regarding your rental on making repairs or advertising. But that is up to you.

HOW DO I GET STARTED WITH YOU. WHAT'S THE FIRST STEP?- It's easy. You can download the necessary forms right here from this site (download). You can also give us a call, or email us with the particulars of the subject property (rental), and your address where you would like us to send your packet containing the necessary forms and paperwork. That's it. It will take us a few minutes to put your packet in the mail. When you get the packet, answer the questions regarding the property and fill in the other highlighted areas and send the paperwork back. We'll get started right away.

WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT PETS AND SMOKERS ? - They exist and make up large paying demographic groups. Let's take pets. Tenants know that only a small percentage of owners 'allow' pets. Consequently, many pet owners feel they must deceive a landlord about having a pet. They justify it in their mind because they don't see their pet as being a problem. This means that on occasion you will rent to a person without pets only to find later on that they have a pet. At this point you have a decision to make. Remember, the property is an investment. The question you need to ask yourself is, if the pet has caused damage, and you evict the tenant because of the pet, will you be better off? You will get as much of the deposit as possible to make the repairs and you will have a vacancy.... no income. If you let the pet stay (assuming no more damages), you will still have to make the repairs when the tenant decides to leave, but you will have the income while the tenant is in the property. If the pet isn't causing any harm, it's always better to let them stay. The same goes for smokers. We have had properties where all the carpet had to be replaced, and the unit painted twice, just to get rid of the smoke stains and odors. The choice, from a risk standpoint would be to avoid all smokers and pet owners. The reality is, they're not always going to tell you the truth and you will end up with them anyway. So, maybe it would be better to allow both groups but put up restrictions. It's not an easy question to answer. For the most part it depends on you. It's your property. The more people you exclude, potentially the longer it will take to rent.... and on average the vacancy will always cost more than making the repairs.

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