When a property owner hires a property management company, they often want to know what exactly management services entail. Although services can look different depending on the management company you select, at Rincon Property Management, this fee is covered by the management fee. It is clear that the largest area of responsibility is managing the tenants at the rental unit. Below we share what goes into tenant management.
Appropriately handling the eviction process
Handling an eviction can be complicated, and we always recommend that any landlord seeking to begin the eviction process utilize legal professionals. At Rincon Property Management, we utilize a trusted, local law firm that can facilitate the eviction process if needed. Although this is rare, when it does occur, we are prepared to handle the situation quickly and correctly. We take steps to avoid evictions, and follow the lead of legal professionals if an eviction is necessary.
Managing the tenant renewal process or move-out procedures
When a tenant moves out of a unit, or chooses to renew their lease, we are able to manage the process from start to finish. The renewal process requires a re-signing of the lease by the tenant.
Move out procedures can include conducting a move-out inspection, handling any repairs or maintenance issues, ensuring the tenant receives their security deposit, and more.
Rent collection
Each month, we collect the agreed upon monthly rental payment from the tenant. This process is facilitated by our staff from start to finish, including if there is a delay in payment or if a tenant ceases to make their rental payments.
Responding to tenant concerns
If a problem comes up, the tenant has a question about something, or a tenant needs to report a maintenance issue, we are happy to handle their concerns. When a property owner hires a property management company, they are able to avoid handling day-to-day issues, while staying in the loop about any notable issues or changes.
Tenants have the ability to email our team, call our office directly, or chat in for assistance on our website during business hours. This makes it easy for tenants to communicate with us.
Enforcing the terms of the lease (including unauthorized pets and tenants)
Part of managing a tenant includes ensuring that the terms of the lease agreement signed by the tenant are being enforced. While there are a variety of ways that a tenant could potentially violate a lease, this is not common.
An example of a lease violation could be an unauthorized pet or pets at the property, or unauthorized tenants. In the event of a lease violation, depending on the severity of the violation, we will try to provide a chance for the tenant to remedy the situation before taking further action to ensure the terms of the lease are being followed.
Holding security deposits
When a tenant signs the lease for a property, we require a security deposit prior to move-in. This process is facilitated by the property management company on behalf of the owner, to ensure any damages for which the tenant is at fault can be remedied.
We believe that vetting tenants well can eliminate many issues and can reduce the need to retain a deposit after move-out. By thoroughly screening applicants, we are able to identify many issues in advance. For this reason, the vast majority of our tenants receive most, if not all, of the deposits back.
Managing lockouts
Toward the end of the eviction process, if the tenant does not vacate the property independently, the sheriff will perform a lockout of the property and physically remove the tenants. At that point, we will store the tenant’s belongings for up to eighteen days and coordinate with the tenant to resume possession of their items.
As the property management company, we ensure we provide the attorney with any necessary documentation or information. We will also attend court to ensure all information is correct, and provide further documentation as needed. In these cases, the remaining rental payment may or may not end up being paid. However, the faster the tenant is removed, the faster a new tenant who is timely with rental payments can inhabit the unit. The eviction process can be lengthy, taking from 4-6 weeks on average, but can be even longer.
HOA and neighbor complaints
When it comes to addressing complaints from a unit's HOA or complaints from neighbors, we make sure everything is handled quickly and does not grow into a larger issue. As the property management company, we maintain a direct line of communication with the HOA. We believe that maintaining great relationships with both the HOA and other neighbors is a critical piece of owning a rental property. We receive correspondence directly from the HOA on behalf of the owner, if this is something that the HOA allows, and maintain a record of all correspondence with the HOA.
On behalf of the property owner, we are able to address any requests, complaints or recommendations made by the HOA in a timely manner in an effort to avoid fines. If fines do occur, we will coordinate payment with the tenant to the HOA. We also will coordinate with the tenant to ensure we can provide evidence of the requested changes or corrections directly to the HOA.
If we receive a neighbor complaint, we will always verify the validity of the reported issue prior to requesting a correction from a tenant. In some cases, property owners may have relationships with their neighbors. These neighbors may, if an issue arises, contact the owner directly. We encourage property owners to relay this information to us so that we can address the issues accordingly.
Inspection walkthroughsWe provide one inspection a year to our clients. While we do provide additional inspections upon request, these require an additional fee. Inspections are conducted four months prior to lease expiration and include both video and photo, which we provide to the owner for verification. We also provide virtual walkthroughs with the owner if this is preferred. This helps us document the condition of the home and remedy any issues.
