Communation & Expectations

As a, Phoenix Property Manager, we understand that as the owner of an investment property your goal is to see your rental home bring you in not only the cash you invested in the property but also to earn a profit. With that being said, to maintain any return on investment it is vital that you keep your rental property rented and properly maintained. One of the most common mistakes we see owner-landlords make is NOT setting up clear expectations with the tenant.Without setting clear lines of communication and expectation you may be going down a long difficult road.

Once the tenant has been screened and you, as you prepare the tenant to sign the lease it is imperative that he or she understand what you expect from them as tenant. You need to clearly communicate the rules that govern the lease, what you expect from the tenant and what happens when the rules are not followed especially if your home is in an HOA. Since the lease agreement is the document that will convey all of the rules that will determine how the tenant will behaves it is imperative it is correct at time of signing. If you have ever evicted a tenant, then you know that the contents of the lease agreement may determine the decision of the court. This means that you need to make your lease rock solid and clearly lays out your expectation and rules including late payments, HOA violations, notices of non-compliance, maintenance, and other items such as health and safety. You need to communicate to the tenants what they will owe you right from the start. Inform the tenant of the monthly reoccurring payment including and applicable taxes that are included. Since some tenants do not treat rent their rent payment as a priority it is a good idea to send a reminder email or statement as this may help with prompt payment. By setting clear expectations and not making exceptions to the rules you should be able to successfully manage your tenants. However if you if you still having difficulties with your tenant contact Real Property Management West Valley Phoenix and we can help you!

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3 Simple Reasons Why Using a Property Management Company Is a Good Idea

Here are three simple reasons to use a Property Management Company.

1-Experience- This is perhaps the most important reason. As an individual property owner, it is not possible to create the real life experience that a Property Management Company has.

With experience comes a great knowledge base. This knowledge base usually will result in good decisions as they relate to placing and managing tenants. Experience is also a plus when it comes to maintaining and keeping your property at the most profitable level.

2- Tenant Buffer - Unless you want an intimate relationship with your tenant, this is also a good reason to let a property manager handle things. If your property manager is good, they will have a clear lease and policies in place and there will be no need for you to get involved.

You will only be consulted if needed on things like large maintenance repairs, property turnovers and rent increases. Then, you will have the privilege of an objective third party to consult with on the above items.

3- Profit - Property Management Services can be a profitable choice if you apply some simple math.

We have found that on average, one property takes about 5 hours a month to manage (this is just an average - some months there will be more hours, some less). The normal management fee is $75 a month. So if you manage the property yourself, you could tell yourself that you are saving $15 an hour for 5 hours.

But what if you have another job or business where you make $40 an hour? Let's say you take those 5 hours and invest that time into your $40 an hour endeavor. You will be effectively be making and additional $125 just by hiring a property manager (5 hrs.x $40 - $75 management fee).

3 Steps to Tenant Retention

3 Quick Tips To Retain Your Tenants

1) Keep Your Rental Price in Line With The Market - 
This may seem obvious. However, we have seen instances where an owner will try to get too aggressive at renewal and ask for a price increase that is way out of line with the market. Most often, the tenants will recognize that the proposed rent increase is too much and they will bail. This can result with a loss of a good tenant.

2) Listen to Your Tenant's Concerns- 
Again, another obvious one but one would be amazed at the number of owners who do not do this. You can listen and not agree but you can at least consider what they are saying.

We see lack of listening by owners frequently in this situation.

The owner hires a cheap pool vendor to save 10-20 bucks a month. The vendor is terrible at maintaining the pool (frequently not showing up, not communicating with the tenants and letting the water get foul).

The tenants tells us what is going on. We relay this to the owner and let them know we can refer them to a reliable pool service. The owner does nothing and continues to use the same lousy vendor and aggravates the tenants.

3) Respond quickly to a needed repair-
Tenants get frustrated when needed repairs are not addressed quickly. 

90% of our owners are great about getting back to us when a large problem needs to be fixed. However, we have managed properties where the owner will delay a repair. Maybe this is due to financial issues or maybe even the owners are thinking if they avoid a response, the problem will magically disappear. 

This does nothing but agitate the tenants and these are typically the owners who get upset when the tenants do not renew their lease. 

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CC&R's and Tenants

As the Arizona weather heats up the landscaping drys out and HOA violations occur! Be prepared, be sure that your tenant is well advised of the HOA restrictions. But let's be honest we all know the tenant is not going to read the 90 page CC&R booklet. As a Phoenix Property Manager we have found that if you advise the tenant of the common sense violations such as weeds, over night parking and visible trash cans on a non-service day that is a long way towards prevention. The next step is to be sure the tenant is advised of any violations or warnings as they occur. The tenant should be immediately notified in writing and advised that a violation has occurred even if it is just a warning. If repeat violations are received a firmly worded letter should accompany the violation so that the tenant knows this is unacceptable. If your lease permits charge the tenants for any fines that may occur. It is a good idea to stay on top of both the HOA dues and any fines that occur to avoid any added late fees.

So again, be proactive advise your tenants of the common HOA violations such as trash cans visible on a non-service day, weeds, over-night parking in the street and stay in communication with both the tenant and HOA when an violations occur. 

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Landlords BEWARE!!!!

For the most part I never look at or read ANY online reviews....for RPM West Valley Phoenix or any other business for that matter because typically the happy customers are the ones that are too busy to be bothered by writing a review AND because a lot of companies (KYKO Roofing to name one) offers to discount customer's invoices after work has been completed if they are willing to write a good review about them either on google or the Better Business Bureau.  But the other day while doing market research for our current clients I came across the following RPM West Valley Phoenix review from our tenant A. Hall:

"RUN! These people are horrible and will nickle and dime you poor! Most unprofessional property management company I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with. They do not value or respect anyone as a renter,or as a human being. I would rather eat broken glass then have to put up with there rude,unprofessional ways any longer. You people should be ashamed of yourselves. Nothing but lies,fines,penalty's ,Hidden charges. Do your self a favor and save the headaches. DON'T TRUST THIS COMPANY!"

So I am writing this blog so that all landlords can beware of this tenant and many like them.  A. Hall wrote this blog while sitting in his rental property of which he hadn't paid rent and was in the middle of being evicted. Apparently A. Hall didn't have the money to pay his rent to the property owner BUT he did have the money to keep his phone and internet going and instead of being out looking for a job he was spending his time writing non-factual reviews about a property manager who did their job by enforcing the lease agreement and swiftly moving for eviction when it became apparent that the tenant wouldn't be paying rent.....but I forgot these types of tenants think they should get to live for free as long as possible with the property owner covering the cost.  Also, I should mention that Aaron was a tenant with us for 18 months prior to be evicted but funny no online reviews from him until the day he is in court to be evicted!

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Summer Property Damage Prevention

In the summer, there are three frequent repairs that we see at the properties we manage in Arizona.  These repairs can be costly but the good news is that they are all avoidable. The first problem we see occurs with the A/C system drain line.

The A/C system's drain line is usually located between the ceiling and the roof.  The evaporator coil within the system's air handler produces condensate.  The moisture produced from the evaporator coil is set up to be drained through a primary drain pan line. A problem occurs when this pan clogs as moisture from the system mixes with the dirt in the air and the system.

When the primary pan clogs, most systems are set up with a secondary pan to handle the overflow.  However, the secondary pan can also get clogged and when this happens there is no place for the condensate to go except out of the pan and into the ceiling.  We have also seen systems set up poorly so that the secondary pan does not work or the pan is not level which leads to frequent clogs.

Once the system starts to overflow, damage to the ceiling area can occur quickly.  This leads to costly drywall repairs especially if the leak isn't noticed early by the tenant.

This problem is avoidable at your Arizona rental units.  Frequent changing of the air filters helps but can you really depend on your tenant to change the filters with the frequency they need to?

The best thing to do is have the drainage system professionally cleaned out.  At the time this is done, you can put in a condensate safety switch into your drainage system.  This device is installed at the secondary pan and is a float.  When the water level gets to a certain point in the pan, it shuts the system off.

The solution is inexpensive and if and when the safety switch shuts the system off, the drains can be cleaned out.

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Busy and on the go! We can help with 24/7 access to your account!

“According to the National Association of Realtors, 89 percent of home shoppers use a mobile device during their search.” With statistics like these, it has become imperative to rethink your marketing strategies to accommodate all mobile consumers. As a, Phoenix Property Manger, we have done just that! Our rentals can be searched using both online searches as well as on any mobile device so that your rental is just a click away! Be sure, when you are searching for a property manager you ask about their system so you are sure you can always be connected as well as your tenant! Our state of the art system allows both owners and tenants’ immediate online access to their account 24 hours a day! Both owners and tenants have access to their detailed information. In this busy technology driven society we know it is imperative to keep your clients’ up to date and allow for easy access! Our Property Management software allows not only offers 24/7 communication it also offers mobile versions so you can stay update to date at all times from anywhere!

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