I had a recent situation where I picked up a new account and the owner already had a tenant lined up to rent the property. Good news right? Not always. In this case the owner and tenant met at a local church they frequented and agreed to make a deal to mutually benefit each other. The owner was relocating and could not sell property. The property is located in South Natomas and had dropped substantially in value. The prospective tenants had shaky income and poor credit--they also needed a place to live. Perfect match huh? The owner convinced the future tenants to accept the property "as is" for a 12 month lease and be responsible for the following: EVERYTHING. They were to pay the mortgage, water, sewer, garbage, landscaping, MANAGEMENT FEE, LEASE FEE and standard management $300 reserve!
One problem: they hired the manager 30 days before they were to make the move and they did not take my advice to require a deposit, do a background or negotiate the deal. On the move in day the future tenant was to pay all the money at once. They brought in less than 40% of what was agreed to as well as a laundry list of items wrong with the home. Yes, the owners failed to inform the manager they had already given them access to the property to paint and slowly move in.
How many things are wrong with this story? The biggest problem is the lack of money up front in form of a security deposit to secure the property. Now the owner has no funds to use as collateral--or to evict, without coming out of pocket. We as managers see all kinds of story lines unfold in front of us--even with all the warnings in the world some owners just cannot help themselves. Owners, let me help you--contact me anytime.
James Safonov
Some people are unhappy with their experiences with management companies they rent from or apply to rent from. Our company has been very successful in protecting our clients by doing our due diligence in screening applicants. Not everybody can qualify to rent. We have written qualification guidelines that are upheld by the Department of Real Estate. If we bend the rules for some but not others we are guilty of discrimination. We also would be in violation of our management contract with our owner clients.
Once applicants become tenants, other points of contention between the tenant and property management company can arise that are mostly out of the control of the manager. A property manager acts as a buffer for the owner. The owner does not want to do the hard work in telling a tenant "no, I do not want to sod the grass or install dual pane windows or pull up the carpet and refinish the existing hardwood floors." These are only a fraction of the situations that come up daily for managers to address.
Since the tenat cannot get the instant gratification from speaking directly to the owner--they use the manager as the whipping post for their frustration. Even worse, some are going online to anonymously bad mouth a company for issues that are completely out of their control. We as managers understand they are upset; however, we are not responsible for the frustration. A year ago our broker, who has been hired nationally to teach property management and has grown our company to one of the largest management companies in the nation wrote:
March 30, 2008
I am the broker at HomePointe. We serve many clients and have many satifsfied clients, both residents and owners. There are some obvious and not so obvious reasons why some people do not have a great experience with our company. First, we work for the rental property owner and have a responsibility to try and make sure we rent to only qualifed residents. This means we have to turn down a large number of people that want a rental from us. We hate to do that, but it is our duty. We are proud of our record when it comes to locating great tenants and we aim to maintain it. We even have a program to pay for our owner clients evictions, so we know we pick good tenants. Second, we cannot approve all repair requests made by our residents without our clients approval. Some tenants would love to spend all of the rental income to make their home perfect. But, our clients depend on us to be reasonable. We will take care of all habitability issues, but maybe turn down a request to paint a room that does not really need it. Third, some of our owner clients may have high mortgage payments and think they are entitled to a certain rent to cover it. It is not a renters responsibility to pay for an owners mistake. Renters are smart and will find the best deal. Some owner clients are disappointed when we tell them what the market rent is. We do not control rent rates, we just try to know the market so we can rent a property within 30 days.
We do address every single complaint and get them all resolved or at least answered. We always address complaints. We employ over 50 members of our community and make every effort to be a good neighbor.
The company donates both time and money to local and national non profit agencies. Again, we want to be a good neighbor and be your property manager. Contact me any time at HomePointe.
I believe his message is worthy of mention.
James Safonov
www.homepointe.com
It is always a good idea to do whatever you can to retain tenants. Especially good tenants. I routinely review my portfolio of managed properties to see what leases are expiring (those reverting to month to month contracts). Once I identify a lease nearing expiration, I review the market comps then make contact with the tenant to determine if they are interested in signing a new lease. If they are interested in staying I communicate that to the owner and do the deal. Lease renewals can benefit all involved: the owner client has the security of a new lease, the tenant can avoid uncertainty with their rental and the agent can earn a nominal lease renewal fee to coordinate the deal. In a growing economy the lease renewal can initiate a rent increase to meet market rents. In this challenged economy some owners are even lowering rents in exchange for a new lease to retain quality tenants. Nothing beats a tenant who pays on time and respects the property--make the effort to keep them!
James Safonov
These communities along the I 80 corridor are experiencing higher than normal vacancies for this time of year. With competitive pricing and a proven system in marketing, good qualified tenants can be found. The lesson to be learned is to distinguish your property. You can distinguish your property immediately with a survey of the competition and a competitive asking rent at or near the bottom of the average rents available. With today's tech savvy prospective tenants searching online for the best deals--they will not waste their gas or time to visit your overpriced property in person. Know your market, know your competition--don't meet them, beat them!
I have been successfully beating the competition with Homepointe Property Management for nearly eight years--I would be happy to do it for you.
James Safonov
These communities along the I 80 corridor are experiencing higher than normal vacancies for this time of year. With competitive pricing and a proven system in marketing, good qualified tenants can be found. The lesson to be learned is to distinguish your property. You can distinguish your property immediately with a survey of the competition and a competitive asking rent at or near the bottom of the average rents available. With today's tech savvy prospective tenants searching online for the best deals--they will not waste their gas or time to visit your overpriced property in person. Know your market, know your competition--don't meet them, beat them!
I have been successfully beating the competition with Homepointe Property Management for nearly eight years--I would be happy to do it for you.
James Safonov
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Property Management Rentals and Maintenance in Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, and El Dorado Counties from offices located in Sacramento, Roseville, and Orangevale, CA We manage residential and commercial.
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