Property Management Blog

Pet Policy Change

We have recently changed our policy and the language in our leases related to pet fees. For many years we’ve only charged tenants a one-time non-refundable pet fee at move-in, usually in the amount of $250. While this is usually sufficient, there are always cases where a pe...

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Early Lease Termination Clauses

There are two different schools of thought regarding early lease termination clauses. Some landlords hold that they don’t want an early termination clause in their lease because it makes the tenant feel that that it is okay to terminate early. Others feel that it is better ...

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Utility Bills

Utility bills can be a real nightmare if the lease doesn’t cover them correctly. We frequently take over the management of a property that the owner had been paying the utilities for and then billing the tenant. Usually, the owner is having us take over because the tenant d...

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Tenant Supplied Credit Reports

If you’ve been a landlord for a while, you’ve probably encountered a tenant applicant who wanted to provide you with a copy of his credit report rather than you running a report yourself. The conversation usually goes like this:“I just had my credit report run t...

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Tenant Prospects in a Hurry

If you’ve been renting properties for a while, then you’ve probably run into tenant prospects who call wanting to move in almost immediately. There are several reasons that you should be very wary of any prospective tenant who is in such a hurry:They’re frequent...

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Tenant Threats about Security Deposits

If you’ve been a landlord for long, you’ve probably dealt with tenants who left the property owing money, either for repairs or for unpaid rent or late fees. Obviously, the reason that a landlord requires a security deposit is to cover these amounts. But when a landlo...

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Legal Documents

One of the most important reasons to hire a professional to manage your properties is the importance of the various legal documents associated with it. Everyone is familiar with leases (although few individual landlords have a good lease form), but there is actually a lot more do...

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Roommates and Security Deposits

Something that comes up pretty regularly, especially in college communities, is how you’re supposed to deal with a security deposit when there are non-married roommates listed on the same lease. It’s important to deal with this correctly, otherwise you could end up wi...

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ALWAYS screen. No exceptions.

Sometimes a tenant prospect comes along who tries to avoid the usual screening process, and there is some sort of circumstance that tempts you to accept his or her request. Perhaps the tenant is offering to pay six months’ rent up front, or perhaps you’ve been waiting...

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Reviewing the lease with the tenant

One of the most important things that can be done to ensure compliance with the lease is to review it in detail with the tenant(s). It’s hard to believe for many property owners, but most tenants will just sign the lease without bothering to read any of it. For those who do...

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