LANDLORD SERVICES

     

As property managers we provide landlords with professional assistance in managing their rental properties which include tasks such as finding and screening tenants, collecting rent payments, handling maintenance and repairs, and dealing with legal issues such as evictions. By hiring a property manager, landlords can save time and avoid the stress that comes with managing a rental property on their own. Additionally, we can often provide valuable insights and expertise on market trends, property pricing, and tenant relations to help maximize landlords rental income and minimize the hassle of property management. A further look into our services are as follows:

                                        

PROPERTY MARKETING

It’s vital for rental property owners to keep their units leased. Every vacant rental home costs the property owner in taxes and maintenance costs. When choosing a property management firm, owners should look for a company that has high occupancy rates. We at Brick & Mortar Properties strive to maintain a 98.5 percent occupancy rate for all assets we manage. Moreover, we consistently exceed this mark.

Our marketing process begins with performing a current rent analysis and establishing a rent range which aims to produce higher rents and fewer vacancies. We then take high quality photos of the property to showcase its most desirable attributes. We also include 3-D virtual tours and/or videos of our vacancies where effective. Advertising and showings begin as soon as the home is rent ready.

Once the listing is prepared, we utilize mass syndication and online advertising on a wide array of websites. Traditional marketing efforts are also used by placing yard/window signage on the property, where allowed and deemed effective. Many of our showings take place on demand and at the convenience of the prospective resident. All these efforts give your rental home maximum exposure.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
   · Comprehensive Rent Analysis

   · High Quality Photographs & Virtual Tour/Video of Property

   · Wide Reaching Online Listing Syndication

   · Consistent Follow-Up with Prospects

   · Application Handling & Thorough Review

   · Resident Approval

   · Seamless Move-in Coordination

                                      

TENANT SCREENING

Our tenant screening process consists of a strict set of guidelines designed to assist in placing better tenants. Credit history, criminal background, rental experience, income/employment, and personal references are all taken into account.

   · Our application review begins with verifying that the applicant’s gross income is at least three times the rent to assure they can comfortably afford the rent.

   · We also carefully review the applicant’s credit history to determine if they are financially reliable. This includes ensuring the applicant has no outstanding balances with utility companies or former landlords.

   · Additionally, we take into account any bankruptcies, liens, or judgments the applicant may have had placed against them in the last 5 years.

   · Next, we obtain a comprehensive reference from the applicant’s current and/or former landlord and utilize a nationwide search to check that the applicant has had no previous evictions. This is to make sure that we are not leasing out your home to an unreliable tenant with a bad rental history.

   · Finally, it’s crucial that the applicant has no felonies within the last 10 years. The major felonies that we flag are drug and sexual-related charges, vandalism, and violent crimes. No one wants an unlawful figure living in their property.

The bottom line of our tenant screening process is to ensure that each individual applicant will be a good fit to lease out your rental home. With the years of experience we have in performing this process, you can count on us to select only the most qualified tenants who will treat your property with respect.

                                           

RENT RECOLLECTION

Collecting rent is easy if you have the perfect tenant who pays on time – and with our comprehensive tenant screening process, the odds of this are high! Furthermore we provide our tenants a convenient tenant portal that makes rent payment easier than ever with multiple online payment options available, among the traditional payment options to accommodate all preferences. This equates to a lower likelihood of nonpayment.

Once collected and accounted for properly, your funds are sent electronically to your bank account via ACH. Doing so will reduce the chances of lost or delayed checks.

But what happens when the tenant doesn’t pay? Having someone in your corner who knows landlord-tenant laws and the proper notices to send is critical!

We set the rent due date on the first of the month and have a five-day grace period. If the payment isn’t received by then, a late fee is applied. The process that follows if rent is not received in a timely manner includes a series of emails, calls, and mail correspondence. Often times, late rent is a simple matter of forgetfulness, or a minor circumstance that is quickly remedied.

In the rare occurrence that we are still unable to collect rent from the tenant by mid-month, we present the option to file for summary ejectment (eviction), and may start the eviction proceedings five business days later if the rent due remains unpaid. All legal matters are handled through a professional attorney, with us at Brick & Mortar Properties acting as your liaison to ultimately coordinate an ideal resolution between all parties as quickly as possible.

HOW WE COLLECT FROM PAST TENANTS
We actively pursue collection of all balances due from past tenants for 30 days in-house. After one month, we send all the details and documents to a professional collection agency. They place the collection with all 3 credit bureaus and continually attempt to make the collection in accordance with applicable federal law. They report to us each month on the status of the collection. You will receive payment in the month following collection of the debt regardless of if you are still a client of Brick & Mortar Properties or still own the property. Don’t worry, we handle clearing the debt from collections.

                                  

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

The maintenance and repair side of property management is one of the biggest benefits of hiring a professional property manager. You won’t have to worry about being on call to respond to maintenance & repair requests throughout all hours of the night & day. As your property manager, we’ll take care of all these tasks for you. 

Tenants can make repair requests online through their tenant portal, by phone, or in-person at our office. In the event of an emergency, we have a live 24/7 maintenance line. We have a strong network of fully vetted maintenance vendors. These experts will save time, money, and make sure the job is done correctly and in a professional manner.

Brick & Mortar Properties only works with highly qualified, reliable, insured, and licensed (if required) vendors. Our vendors must adhere to background checks as we want to ensure that there are no unlawful characters entering your premises and may be in contact with your tenants. Finally, we handle all applicable sales tax and year-end (1099) filings.

Prevention of postponed maintenance and the relating cost is another reason for hiring a professional property manager. Preventative maintenance is a proactive approach to prevent damage and repairs, before they get worse and more costly. Brick & Mortar Properties works with numerous vendors offering an array of preventative maintenance services, such as pressure washing, gutter cleaning, duct cleaning, etc., which in turns makes insider pricing and priority status available to our clients. In the long-term, we believe that preventative maintenance will ultimately save the landlord money and prevent potential exposed liability.

                                     

PROPERTY INSPECITON

Routine inspections are a crucial part of our job in ensuring your rental property is well taken care of. Whether it is a full annual inspection or a quick check-in during maintenance visits, we keep a close eye on things so that any issues uncovered can be resolved swiftly before progressing.

Brick & Mortar properties provides one free full inspection a year for each rental property under our care. This typically occurs prior to move-in to create a record of property conditions as a basis to determine any variance in the conditions upon eventual move-out, when a subsequent inspection would be performed.

In the interim, quality assurance inspections are completed any other time a property is entered, such as during a maintenance visit, assisting a tenant with a lock-out, meeting with a property assessor or other contractor to provide entry, etc.

In the event a tenant resides at a property for several years, a renewal inspection is completed each year prior to the lease expiring and is evaluated to determine if and how we should proceed with renewing the tenant’s lease.

With each inspection a full report will be created, complete with a notation detailing the condition of each and every item at the property, as well as any comments pertaining to specific items requiring attention, and corresponding photos. Should anything need to be addressed, these detailed reports will be made available via our online owner portal.

Of all the inspections we perform, perhaps the most critical is the move-out inspection. Performing this inspection helps us determine the condition of the property when the tenant moves out. We typically schedule the walk-through on the day the tenant moves out. If it’s done too early, any damage that may be caused in the last few days or during the process of moving out could be overlooked. Sadly, this is quite common. (For example, floors or walls can easily be damaged in the process of moving large or heavy furniture.)

On the other hand, if we do this inspection too late, the tenants may claim the damage was not caused by them. Timing is crucial when it comes to move-out inspections and security deposit dispositions. As your trusted professional property management company, we make sure the timing is optimized and the required guidelines are met.

                            

FINANCIAL REPORTING

Brick & Mortar Properties uses a professional and industry-specific accounting software to track and generate all property finances and reports. We send you a monthly statement via email. You will receive the email in an easy-to-read format. There are also copies of the repair bills and month-end statements that are posted and available in real-time on your owner portal. Your funds are sent electronically to your bank account via ACH. Doing so will reduce the chances of lost or delayed checks. Finally, we provide a year-end summary statement along with a 1099.

Log into your owner portal to view statements & more, such as:

   · Rent collection and processing

   · Payment of maintenance vendor bills

   · Payment of monthly items at the request of owners

   · Owner statement and direct deposit by ACH processing to your bank account

On an annual basis, you will also receive the following:

   · Tax statements and 1099s

   · Annual summary owner statement