What to Expect From a Property Manager

Tenants
The first step to having a successful apartment is having the right tenants. A company does this by having a third party screener. The third party screens for the following: credit, criminal, eviction, sex offenders, employment and rental history. The goal is to put the highest quality tenant in your apartment.

Fair Housing
The Federal Government has set up laws called Fair Housing. The law states that no one can discriminate based on the following: race, color, sex, religion, handicaps, national origin, family status, and more if your state has added them. A property manager knows how important it is to follow these laws, and are working everyday to make sure that you as the owner of the apartments will never get fined from the Fair Housing.

Maintenance
Maintenance is a huge headache for most owners. You may find yourself wondering, is it time to replace the swamp cooler, or the kitchen sick. Is the water bill so high because there is a leak some where? Managers understands how hard maintenance is, that is why they should have trained employees that know what to look for when they are walking through your properties. Property managers know that a small leak can cause huge problem. The manager should send you a report of improvements that can be done to your property. This will allow your property to stay competitive in the market.

We know that good maintenance does the following:
1. Retains tenants.
2. Keeps your property competitive in the market.
3. Will prevent problems for the future.
4. Lowers turnover cost.
5. Will allow for increase in rent.

Make sure that these 5 things are happening for you.

Property Management
Property managers should want to help you keep your property to the highest standards. Some of the keys are; a great marketing plan to get the best value out of your property, walk through each property every 60-90 days, Walk through inspections are an important key not only to see what is happening in the property but it builds a better tenant relationship. The more we are in the properties the better tenants you will have. Another important key is book keeping, providing up to date book keeping, rent collection, automatically deposited to your account. Fast evictions are an essential key, have an attorney who works solely on evictions. Know that each of these keys are vital to keeping your investment successful.

Rent
It is our job as your manager to help your property value increase property value is tied to NOI. Rent increases or decrease done at the right time help to avoid high turnover cost. A good manager will watch the market for you.

Security deposits
Security deposits are moneys that are kept in a trust account by the management company to help pay for repairs done after a tenant moves out. Within fifteen days after the move out date the tenant will receive a deposit disposition form from the management company, this form will state if the tenant receives money back, or if they owe the property management company money for damages.

Move outs
As soon as they have notice that a tenant is moving out they inspect the property with a camera and inform the tenant what needs to be fixed and how much we will charge them if the things are taken care of. After the tenant has moved out they again go to through the property with a camera and record things that were not done. They then make all the necessary repairs before new tenants move in. This is to ensure you have evidence of all repairs, and to ensure that all work gets done.

Turn over expenses
The law says that a landlord may charge the tenants for reasonable items to be replaced when a tenant vacates the property. So, here are some cost the that landlord needs to be prepared to pay; locks changed, painting, carpet cleaning, and general cleaning of the property. Remember, these are general rules and exceptions are made.

About the author:
Dathan Jacobson of Fortress Property Management LLC. serving the Northern Utah area, graduated from Brigham Young University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Construction Management. Since graduation, he has been working as a Project Manager and Estimator for large builders in Utah. His experience has strengthened his knowledge of real estate and property management. His strong estimating, scheduling, and management skills are crucial in managing and maintaining rental properties.Dathan is honest, hardworking and dependable. Raised in Utah, he loves the area and people who live here. Helping and improving the situation of others brings him great satisfaction. He is a dedicated husband and a father of five.

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