Property Management Systems:

 

Finding Quality Tenants: The perfect tenant pays their rent on time, causes no social or morally unacceptable problems and keeps your property looking great! The only problem is, is that there is nearly no such thing as a perfect tenant. Finding good tenants requires a system to screen and check out would be renters. At PMbC, our system starts with a Rental Application Form and an interview to determine the relative desirability of a prospective tenant. Once an applicant has been screened over the phone and has seen the property, they are then offered a Rental Application to fill out for our final approval. Prospective tenants are required to pay us a non-refundable $35.oo Application Fee, which reimburses our costs for checking out the tenant, preparing Leases, etc. This fee also helps to eliminate undesirable tenants that may have something to hide. The operative words above are "Our Approval", since, once we've found one or more qualified tenants, we then call our Property Owner, make our recommendation and then leave it up to the owner (when possible) for final approval. Now, even though we have a system, it is important to note, that no system is completely "fool proof". What I mean by this, is that tenants do lie, prior landlords do lie and we don't always have access to past criminal records etc.

 

Protecting the Owner's Interests: Once a tenant has been placed into your property, it is then our job to make sure that tenants act responsibly. In order to protect your interests and to get rid of problem tenants, we've developed other systems to lay down the ground rules for responsible behavior and to record violations for possible court actions if needed. It isn't good enough to just tell a tenant that something has to be corrected, you have to firmly establish ground rules (up front) and document violations in writing. In this system, the documents we use are the Rental Lease Agreement, Tenant Rental Policies, Late Fee Notice, Rental Violation Form and Tenant Eviction Notices. With all of these forms, the tenant is required to read, understand/acknowledge by personal signature what is expected, what has to be corrected and what actions are being taken on our part to correct the problem. If it's not in writing, then it is only your word against theirs; these systems make our word count!

Maintenance: Controlling Costs: How much do you think it would cost you to have a licensed plumber replace a water faucet, repair a leaky toilet or replace a faulty hot water heater? In our area licensed plumbers get anywhere from $45 to $65.oo an hour plus materials. These wages, as you may already have experienced ring true for other contractors as well. How much to patch a leaky roof, to replace a broken window, to clean and paint an apartment/home? Paying full price for these types of services can put your valued investment in jeopardy before you know it! As stated earlier in this packet, one of our goals is to "Minimize Ownership Costs". We accomplish this goal by keeping our labor costs below those charged by other Contractors. Our labor rates for common maintenance tasks range between $5.50 to $25.oo an hour based upon the type and difficulty of the work being performed. So if the plumber wants to charge you $65.oo/hr. for replacing a hot water heater, we could do the job for $25.oo to $50.oo. Second, we, unlike other contractors don't place a mark up on the materials needed to do the job. Our cost (to include our contractor's discount) is your cost; and we provide the receipts to prove it. PMbC, often acquires a lot of scrap/left over materials from various other jobs; so if you only need an 18" of copper tubing, you don't pay for an 8' piece, etc. Additionally, PMbC is the only Property Management Firm in the North Country that is an authorized Credit Card Merchant. This means that our property owners have the option of using Master Card/Visa, Discover and American Express Cards to cover unexpected repairs and renovations.

Tools of the Trade: In order to do all of this great management and maintenance stuff, we ask our owners to "give us the tools that we will need to do the job". I'm not talking about hammers and pipe wrenches; I'm mostly talking about funding for unexpected routine and/or emergency repairs. Each of our property owners is required to establish a Petty Cash Maintenance Fund before we will assume any responsibility for their property. This requirement also falls under the objective of protecting the owner's interests. When things go wrong, they never seem to happen when you have time or the funds to take care of them. Heating systems break in the middle of the coldest night in winter! A tree branch falls on your roof or breaks a window on a weekend or holiday etc. The Petty Cash Maintenance Fund allows us to immediately respond to any unexpected emergency, so that we can fix it now, while protecting your property as well as taking care of your contracted health & safety responsibilities of your tenants. The total amount of funds required in the Maintenance Fund are dependent upon the amount of properties/apartments serviced under our contract. Generally, it ranges between $250.oo to $750.oo.

Accounting/ Reports:

Monthly Rental Accounting Summaries (MRAS): At the middle or end of each month, PMbC , provides our owners with a detailed Accounting Summary of Rental Income and Expenses . Your Petty Cash Maintenance Account Fund is tracked by PMbC, using a "Quicken Check Register". This Register records Rental Income, Rental Expenses and Owner Deposits/Payments (see enclosed Sample register). Included with both of these Reports/Printouts are our Maintenance Invoices, which also include Receipts for Materials. Each of these documents can be crossed checked by the owner for accuracy.

Annual Accounting Summaries: Annual Accounting Summaries detail specific reports used in the preparation of your Income Tax Return and will be provided to our Owners at the current (optional) additional charge of $50.oo/yr. These reports would include a summary of rental income and expenses for the past year (i.e.: Profit & Loss Statements etc.). If you keep up with our monthly reports, then this option may not be necessary, however, these reports will summarize all of your rental income and expenses for the year and detail the income and expenses by specific categories.

Keeping in touch with our Property Owners: Our Owners have the flexibility and options of contacting us by any of the following means in our "In Home Office": * Phone/Answering Machine & Fax (24 hrs/day): 1 (315) 786-8101 * Mail: P.O. Box 191, Watertown, New York 13601 * E-mail (checked every other day): currently: boogie@northnet.org. By the way, due to the nature of our business, we also work weekends and most holidays (check out this feature against what any of our possible competition may be offering)!