Our December Phoenix Property Management Podcast on Rent & Sales Estimates on Zillow

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Phoenix Property Management: Signing a Lease and Tenant Move In | Time and Costs Required

Our journey has taken us from determining market rent, to ensuring our Phoenix rental property is “rent ready” and will attract the best renters, to advertising our rental property for rent, to processing rental applications to choosing the right quality and qualified resident for our home.

Let us now look at what the process of moving people into the investment property should be. In the beginning of the process you were advised to obtain a state compliant lease for your rental property. Make sure you have read and fully understand your lease and all of your and your renter’s responsibilities with regard to the lease.  Your new renters will look to you for explanation of the lease and key terms and dates will need to be clear and concise. This lease signing time will also allow you the opportunity to set “house rules” with regard to items not specifically spelled out in the lease such as city noise ordinance times, changing of filters and light bulbs, maintenance responsibilities or any special neighborhood or Association rules.

Once the lease is signed, a move in evaluation should be performed with the resident noting any items that are damaged (whether or not they are going to be repaired should be noted), and condition of the home.  This is a good time to note make, model and serial numbers for appliances and size and number of filters and batteries needed for future reference. It is also a good idea to ensure your new residents know where the breaker box is, water shut off and how to operate sprinklers, garage door openers etc. Done correctly this process should take approximately two hours of your time.


The last step in this process is to actually give a set of keys and all other openers to the home to your new residents. This is important, do not release keys until the lease has been signed, monies due are collected and the walk through evaluation has been completed as the exchange of keys signifies change in residency.  Once this exchange takes place, you no longer have the right to come and go from your rental home but must give your new residents the State mandated notice before entering. Make sure the new residents have the means to reach you in case of emergency and know where and when to pay the monthly rent. Give a handshake and a smile to welcome them to the neighborhood.

RPMWV Phx offers full service Phoenix Real Estate & Phoenix Property Management services.  For additional information you can contact us at info@rpmwvphx.com or 602-281-2884

Phoenix, AZ Water Heater Maintenance For Your Phoenix Rental Property

Water heater maintenance is fairly straightforward, and many property owners in Phoenix know how to do the basics, such as flushing the tank twice per year, checking the anode rod, and other aspects. However, many property owners either do not know about or forget about the air filter, which is often a black mesh ring circling the bottom of your water heater. This air filter helps keep dust and other grime from getting into your heater’s heating system. However, dust will build up on this filter, and this reduces the air flow to your heater, creating a less efficient heater since your heater requires air to ‘breathe’.  You should clean the filter each time you flush your tank. Cleaning your filter only takes a few minutes and requires no special tools. Follow these steps:

Turn Off Gas/Pilot Light

You do not want any dust flowing up into your heater while you are cleaning, so shut off the gas flow first.

Remove Filter

The filter is kept in place with a simple catching mechanism. Find the catch mechanism, undo, and remove from your heater’s bottom.

Clean

To clean your filter, you can use compressed air to blow away the excess dust. If you don’t have an air compressor, then lay out your filter on the ground, and then spray with water until the dust is removed.

Dry

If you use water to clean your filter, then hang your filter to dry, or wipe down with a cloth.

Put Filter Back in Place

Once your filter is dry, replace underneath your water filter by stretching around the bottom, and then using the grasp mechanism to secure. Check on all sides to ensure that your filter is sitting properly and without any gaps to allow dust through. 

RPMWV Phx offers full service Phoenix Real Estate & Phoenix Property Management services.  For additional information you can contact us at info@rpmwvphx.com or 602-281-2884

Renting Out Your Home in Phoenix: Initial Legal Concerns & Costs

So you have decided to make some extra money by renting out your home in Phoenix, AZ. Before making the leap, there are a few things you need to consider. 

Did you know that most states have Landlord/Tenant laws that can affect what you can and cannot do within the rental relationship? How about local health codes and/or city or county licensing requirements for rental properties? Do you have to have carbon monoxide detectors or how many smoke detectors are required? When is rent due and what is the legal late fee? And then there is the question of security deposits: whose money is it and when does it need to be returned? How do you make a claim to be reimbursed for expenses incurred by the tenant?

As you can see there is quite a bit to know about being a Phoenix Landlord and many ways to put your investment property and yourself at risk by not following guidelines, rules, ordinances and laws pertaining to rental properties. Before renting out your home, make sure you familiarize yourself with these items and talk with your insurance provider to make sure you have an investment property or landlord policy as a homeowner’s policy will not cover loss, damage or injury once you are no longer the primary resident in the home. You will need to plan spending three to seven hours to familiarize yourself with the various legal and insurance considerations before renting out your home.

Next you will need to have a way that the prospective renters can apply to rent your property. Leases can be purchased online or at an office supply store for low prices ($30-$40). However, many times these leases are not compliant to your local laws, and expose you as a Landlord to undue risk and liability. Use caution to ensure that you are not inadvertently violating renter’s rights by asking questions that may be unlawful as a landlord to ask. It is a good idea to have your lease reviewed by legal counsel to ensure the lease protects your rights as well as is compliant with your state’s laws.   You will need to plan spending two to three hours finding a lease, as well as $100 to $300 for an attorney to review your lease to ensure that it complies with regulations.

RPMWV Phx offers full service Phoenix Property Management & Real Estate Services.  For more information on all of our services please visit our website at rpmwvphx.com or call 602-281-2884

Overview of RPM WV Phoenix Online Tenant Portal System for Phoenix Property Management

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Listen to our most recent podcast which provides an overview of our online tenant portal system for our Phoenix Property Management clients.  As always, we end our podcast with a free Phoenix Property Management Tip!






RPMWV Phx offers full service Phoenix Real Estate products including but not limited to Phoenix Property Management and Phoenix Real Estate purchases and sales.  For additional information on our products please contact us at 602-281-2884 or visit the rest of our website at rpmwvphx.com

The Top 3 Things to Consider Before Approving an Out of State Applicant for Your Phoenix Rental Home!

As Phoenix Property Managers, we get a lot of leasing calls from out of state applicants especially given how transient the Phoenix metro area can be.  Due to our vast experience, we are always concerned about leasing to out of state applicants and here are the top 3 some things to consider about before approving your out of state applicant.

1. Many times out of state applicants own a home in another state but relocating to Phoenix for employment or family which means it is easy for them to abandon the rental property in Phoenix and just move home.  Think about it, if you owned a home and rented one which payment would you be more concerned with paying; your mortgage or your rent?

2. Many times out of state applicants are re-locating to Phoenix for a new job - if that is the case do you accept any kind of offer letter?  Absolutely not!  Our credit requirements require the job to be with a large, national company with an office in the local Phoenix area that can be verified.  Also, make sure you call the main company phone line and speak with Human Resources to verify the letter and offer.

3. What about if the applicant doesn't have a job but offers to pay you a few months up front...we say RUN and run fast!  It is just too risky to rent to someone who does not have employment secured in the Phoenix area and if they are just going to begin their search when they move into your home who knows how long it will take.

We can certainly empathize that having your Phoenix rental home vacant can certainly hurt your cash flow but allowing a high risk tenant in the long run can end up making your cash flow hurt even more!


RPMWV Phx offers full service Real Estate services including but not limited to property management and real estate purchase/sales transactions.  For additional information about our services, please visit our website rpmwvphx.com or reach us at 602-281-2884

Phoenix AZ Rent Check Sept - Oct 2016

The following monthly rent statistics is from the ARMLS rent check so it measures rental properties that are advertised and leased through the assistance of the MLS (Multiple Listing System).  In September of 2016, 2,295 properties rented as compared to 2,600 in September of 2015. Additionally, the median lease amount was $1,295 with an average lease amount of $1,477.  The average days on market was 30 so this indicates that the rental market appears to be reaching more "normal" levels as opposed to several years ago when properties were renting in a day or two.  The rent quotient was 3:10 meaning that for every three leased properties, ten homes sold so could the Phoenix Metro area be heading for another bubble?


RPMWV Phx offers full service Real Estate Services for the Phoenix Metro area including property management and full real estate sales.  For information on our services please visit our website www.rpmwvphx.com or call us at 602-281-2884