If you’d like to sleep well at night, knowing your property is secure, under a 24/7 watchful eye and increasing in value every minute, give our Property Management Services a chance. We’ve been successfully managing property since 1995 and have our system down to a science. You can call anytime (number above in the header) or email us!
You have three options for property management services (scroll down for details):
OPTION A – 24/7 Property Management
Best option for out of town owners: 100% passive income!
OPTION B – Secure Tenant ONLY
If you live in town and are comfortable doing the day-to-day management, but want professional help choosing the tenant.
OPTION C – Property Visits
Perfect if you just need someone to walk through now and then.
To see if we are a match, send me an email or give me a call (my phone number is at the top of every page). I look forward to hearing from you!
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OPTION A – 24/7 Property Management
For long term (6 months+) rental properties, we can secure the tenant, then oversee the property, i.e. collect the rent, handle all maintenance issues that come up and be there for emergencies.
To secure the tenant, we write and place the classified ad, arrange for showings with current tenant if there is one, be at all showings, have all prospects fill out a thorough application. We do a thorough background check (credit, criminal, evictions, etc.), rental history and check all references. Once a tenant is chosen, we handle the lease transaction (our leases are written by an attorney) and collect all monies due. Rent checks are deposited into your local bank or mailed to you, however you prefer.
On move-in day, tenant completes and signs a property condition and inventory form. We take photos of anything in less-than satisfactory condition, or anything you or the tenant would like photographed in particular. You and the tenant receive both the form and digital photos; we keep a copy of everything as well.
Maintenance Issues
We respond quickly to our tenants’ calls and they respond in kind. We let them know to call us for any reason, at any time, no matter how small it may seem to them. A small problem can quickly become a big problem! We maintain a list of reliable contacts for repairs and maintenance.
Landlords pay all maintenance and repair bills directly to the vendor. I fax or email the bill to you, you write the check. I request that you pay immediately so the next time I call that service person, they answer the phone. I don’t add anything on top of their bill.
Final Walk-Thru
We conduct a final walk-through with the property condition/inventory list and note any damage or changes. If there are monies to be deducted from the security deposit, we will help you gather whatever information necessary to proceed, i.e. photos, receipts, etc. We handle notices to the tenant (supplied by our attorney) and mail certified within the time period required by law, keeping you notified at every step.
Evictions
Should there be an eviction, we take care of the postings, filings and personal appearances. In our years managing property, we’ve only had to evict one tenant: our very first. We learned our lesson.
Advertising
Landlord pays for classified advertising in the local paper. Ads appear in both the print and online editions. Since each of our rental properties gets its own web page with photos and all details at www.so-real.com, you are able to run the minimum size ad with a link to your property’s web page. This keeps the ad cost low while providing detailed information to prospects. Ads typically run one to two weeks for properties priced at market value.
We write and place the ad for you. We can pay upfront and bill you. For this service, we add 10% to the advertising cost. Or you can open an account at the paper and give them a CC# to hold on file for you. I’ll place the ads, but your card will be charged. Either way is fine with us.
Misc Expenses/Costs
Landlord is responsible for all expenses and costs associated with the property.
Fee
The fee for 24/7 Property Management is:
- 15% of the rental income, payable monthly, and
- 50% of one month’s rent to secure tenant (one time fee per tenant).
- Tenant renewal contracts are $150.
- SAVE 30%: Pay your full year’s maintenance fee upfront!
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OPTION B – Secure Tenant ONLY
If you need us to secure the tenant only, we can do that. We write and place the classified ad, arrange for showings with current tenant if there is one, be at all showings, have all prospects fill out a thorough application. We do a thorough background check (credit, criminal, evictions, etc.), rental history and check all references. Once a tenant is chosen, we handle the lease transaction (our leases are written by an attorney) and collect all monies due (which will be deposited into your local bank or mailed to you, however you prefer).
On move-in day, tenant completes and signs a property condition and inventory form. We take photos of anything in less-than satisfactory condition (or anything you or the tenant would like photographed in particular). You and the tenant receive both the form and digital photos; we keep a copy of everything as well.
Advertising
Landlord pays for classified advertising in the local paper. Ads appear in both the print and online editions. Since each of our rental properties gets its own web page with photos and all details at www.so-real.com, you are able to run the minimum size ad with a link to your property’s web page. This keeps the ad cost low while providing detailed information to prospects. Ads typically run one to two weeks for properties priced at market value.
We write and place the ad for you. We can pay upfront and bill you. For this service, we add 10% to the advertising cost. Or you can open an account at the paper and give them a CC# to hold on file for you. I’ll place the ads, but your card will be charged. Either way is fine with us.
Misc Expenses/Costs
Landlord is responsible for all expenses and costs associated with the property.
Fee
The fee is equal to one month’s rent, due on lease signing. For properties outside city limits requiring extraordinary drive times, there may be an additional fee for travel time and expense during showings.
Repair/Maintenance Issues
If, during the lease, there are any repair or maintenance issues you need us to handle, we can do that. Just give the tenants my contact info and I will take it from there. We handle all maintenance issues immediately.
Landlord pays all maintenance and repair bills directly to the vendor. I fax or email the bill to you, you write the check. I request that you pay immediately so the next time I call that service person, they answer the phone.
I don’t add anything on top of their bill. The fee for overseeing repair/maintenance issues is $30/hour, 1 hour minimum.
FINAL WALK-THROUGH (Move Out Day)
Since we will not have managed the property during the tenant’s lease and will have no idea what transpired over that time period, the final walk-through with the tenant is not included in this service.
If you would like us to do the final walk-thru, the fee for this service is $350. We will check the property after the tenant has vacated (or walk-through with the tenant on the last day in residence) with the property condition/inventory form, noting any changes.
If there are monies to be deducted from the security deposit, we will help you gather whatever information necessary to proceed, i.e. photos, receipts, etc. We handle the notice to the tenant and mail certified within the time period required by law, keeping you notified at every step.
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OPTION C – Property Visits
If you don’t live in your property year-round and would like us to stop-in and make sure the toilet isn’t running, there isn’t a leak, a broken window, the gardener has indeed been there while you’ve been away, we can do this. You’ll create a check-list for your property so we know exactly what you expect, then we visit as frequently as you like: once a day, a week, a month, a year, or on-call.
Fee
The fee for property visits is $50/visit. When we need to be on the property to handle repair/maintenance issues, there is an additional $30/hour fee.
Repair/Maintenance Issues
If at any time, there are any repair or maintenance issues you need us to handle, we can do that. We handle all maintenance issues immediately. Landlord pays all maintenance and repair bills directly to the vendor. I fax or email the bill to you, you write the check. I request that you pay immediately so the next time I call that service person, they answer the phone.
I don’t add anything on top of the vendor’s bill. The fee for overseeing repair/maintenance issues is $30/hour, 1 hour minimum.
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Misc FAQs
Escrow Account: OWNER’S RESERVE?
We don’t keep an escrow account with an owner’s reserve for household bills. If your situation demands we pay your property expenses outside of what the tenant pays (like your property insurance, property taxes, condo fees, etc.), let’s talk, see what you need and what we can provide.
How do you pay me?
Every month, we deposit your rent into your account or mail to you, whichever you’d like. On the 20th of each month, we bill you via email for the management fee. You can pay us online at DWOLLA.com. Opening a DWOLLA account is simple; it connects to your bank account. Or, if you want to pay by credit card, you can pay via Paypal to sally[@]so-real[.]com. Or you can mail a check (or cash or money orders or gold coins… we don’t take barter items… yet) made out to Sally O’Boyle, 1555 E New Circle Rd. #142-117, Lexington, KY 40509.
Escrow Account: TENANT’S MONEY
We do not keep an escrow account. This is the main reason we can keep our rates so low! We ask owners to open a separate account at a bank in the same city as your property. This is not a business account. It’s a regular checking account and will just be used to hold the tenant’s last month’s rent and security deposit. Most banks offer a basic free account. We use First State Bank in Key West and I have a free “Senior” account because I am ever-so-slightly over 50.
Please bear in mind that this is still legally the tenant’s money and cannot be touched until, if and when, the owner makes a legal claim on it due to a default by the tenant.
About Tenants Vacating Early
While we don’t encourage this, in a town with an abundance of service workers, it happens, lease or no.
When tenants leave early, I let the tenant know that if we can’t rent the unit, they will be on the hook for the lease payments until we do. They may lose their deposit, be billed for the remainder of the lease and have it go on their credit report if those payments aren’t made. BUT as long as the unit is priced right, I’ve never had one go empty and it’s always worked out.
About Pets
The overwhelming majority of tenant prospect calls are from people with pets. If you allow pets, the tenants pay an additional $200 security deposit (an unusual pet might require more). My experience of allowing pets is that tenants who are animal lovers – as long as they have good references and check out in every other way – are excellent tenants.
Disaster Hourly Charge
Our efforts to take care of everyone’s properties in the aftermath of Wilma took its toll. It was an overwhelming experience, we learned a lot and we hope and pray we NEVER have to do THAT again! But if we do need to oversee your property after an act of God, the hourly rate is $60/hour to oversee the cleanup and restoration, find workers to make the repairs, make sure the repairs get done, the trash gets hauled. In many cases, to do the hauling and clean-up ourselves. To meet with insurance adjusters, make decisions, etc. This includes phone and desk time.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime with your questions and concerns. Thank you!
