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Property Management
INTRODUCTION - Property Services of Atlanta is a licensed real estate brokerage and property management company. We act as the intermediary agent between owner/investors and tenants. If you are looking for a company that can handle the daily problems of property management, our services are what you are looking for. Through phone calls, email, letters and statements, we keep you informed of the status of your property. Our staff will help you maximize your investment income while minimizing your expenses and maintaining the occupancy of your property.
GETTING STARTED - We can help right away as long as there is no current contract with another sales or property management company. All you need to do is to call one of our property management staff members to obtain more information.
FEES - The initial Set-up/Start-Up fees for every new Tenant into a property is $795.00 (single family residences), $595.00 (Condo & Townhomes) $395.00 (Any Multi-Unit Dwellings per apartment unit), and a $395.00 renewal fee for the same tenant that renews their lease for every year after that. This is paid upfront and automatically non-refundable. Management fees are $50.00 per vacant month or 8% of the monthly gross rent receipts (whichever is greater) and taken on the 1st day of each and every month during the terms of the agreement.
RESERVES - An initial reserve of $500.00 is required in order to start managing a property. The funds held will be used for deposits to turn on utilities (water, power, gas, etc.), and for advertising the property. When the funds are exhausted, we will contact you to replenish them. When the property is rented, the balance of the funds will be credited back to the homeowner/investor. If utilites are currently in your name, there would be no need to send us the utility portion of the reserves. We would therefore ask for a lower reserve bank of $300.00 to cover advertising and/or administrative costs.
ADVERTISING - Each tenant has their own way of locating rental homes in the Atlanta area, whether it be driving around the neighborhood, using a real estate agency, browsing the newspapers or local publications, or through the World Wide Web. We will be found any of these ways. Rental signs are placed on the property and pictures of the exterior and interior are placed on our website, along with rental information. This is included with our services. Owners/investors are responsible for paying for ads in the Atlanta Journal Constitution at a current rate of $135.00 for a weekend ad. As the World Wide Web grows, so do the costs, however, we try to keep advertising cost to a minimum. There is no additional charge to advertise on our website at www.psatlanta.com, as this is included in your initial set-up/Leasing fee. We obtain 40% of our tenant prospects through various advertising resources, which their property management/relocation services and websites can be easily found through most widely used search engines by tenant prospects. To obtain additional exposure on the internet through our relocation resources, these resources are at an extra cost. Here are the costs:
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RESOURCE |
COST |
DURATION |
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www.RentList.net |
$40.00 |
30 Days / Mandatory |
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www.RentMarketer.com |
$84.96 |
30 Days Only / Optional |
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www.RentClicks.com
www.Rentals.com
www.RentalHouses.com
www.HomeRentalAds.com |
$144.00 |
First Initial 30 Days / Optional |
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$84.00 |
Renewal After 30 Days to Max of 6 mos. / Optional |
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www.RentalHomesPlus.com |
$74.00 |
30 Days / Mandatory |
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Atlanta Journal Constitution
(Atlanta's Biggest & Local
Newspaper) |
$134.00 |
(Optional) Our Corporate Rate for Sat/Sun Ad only plus Ad for 7 days on their Internet site.
(Mandatory) This charge is split between the number of properties competing in your area. |
These charges are automatically billed with our service. We have had no owners/investors decline this small investment because the return for the service pays for itself. Unfortunately, we no longer advertise on the following internet resources: www.CraigsList.com, www.FriendlyRent.com, www.RentBuzz.com and www.RealzWhiz.com. These sources have brought us minimal leads or none at all. We have received more fraudulent activities and/or false prospects from these leads. In order for our property managers to give you accurate figures of "true" callers, we have discontinued their services.
FIX UP - Our agent will set up an appointment with you to get acquainted with your property. We strive to have excellent homes and would like to acquire them in excellent condition. An agent will review the condition of your property and may require the homeowner/investor to "fix up" the property to our needs and specifications. We do not want to be a "slum lord" and hope our homeowners and investors feel the same way.
SCREENING TENANTS - Our mission is to obtain the highest qualified tenants. Our tenant profile is based on credit, employment and rental or ownership history. Through the credit bureaus' database, credit may be pulled within a couple of minutes to assure applicant has a history of paying bills on time. Verifying employment assures the owner that the tenant has a means of paying the rent, while checking rental/ownership history assures the owner that the tenant will maintain the property. Owner/Investors are notified of an approved or rejected applicant. Tenants who have filed bankruptcies will be considered on a case by case basis while those who have been evicted will not be considered. Property Services of Atlanta is a fair housing advocate and does not discriminate against any applicant or tenant based on race, creed, color, religion, national origin, handicap or familial status.
LEASING AGREEMENT - Property Services of Atlanta has its own leasing agreement adapted for Georgia Law. One year leases are provided to the tenants unless directed otherwise by the owner/investor. Tenants are required to come to our office to sign and to hear an explanation of the lease to reduce any misunderstandings and to ask questions regarding the contract. This starts off the tenant/agent/landlord relationship on the right foot, which is very important to us. All move-in funds must be paid via certified funds, ie. cash, cashiers check, or money order. If a tenant bounces a check, they will not be able to write checks after that.
PETS - The majority of tenants have pets. We prefer to allow pets in all of our properties, otherwise tenants tend to sneak domestic animals into the property, which means the owner has no pet deposit to cover damages. We would rather have a pet deposit on hand. If the damage caused by the animal exceeds the pet deposit, we will hold funds from the security deposit. You are in no way required to accept pets. This is completely at the discretion of the homeowner and we will do our best to meet that need. Any unlisted pets found on the premises may cause forfeiture of the security deposit.
SECURITY DEPOSITS - For your added protection, we require a deposit equal to the rental rate less a $200.00 administrative fee at the time of move-in, in most cases, and hold the funds in a non-interest bearing account until the tenant has vacated the property. All security deposits are required to be in the form of cash, cashiers check, or money order upon initial move-in. Security deposits are refundable, which encourages tenants to leave the property in good and habitable condition, rather than making additional repairs and/or cleaning the property for a turnaround. Complete instructions are given in the lease as well as the termination letter that is sent to them 60 days before they move out. A move-in inspection report is given to tenants at the time they sign the lease and must be returned to us within 15 days after move-in. We compare the move-in condition report upon move-out to determine the cost necessary to rectify any damages to the property.
COLLECTIONS - In the event that there are funds due to the account from the tenant after they have moved out, and if they do not satisfy the account, derogatory remarks along with the value that was lost is reported to the credit agency. A collection on the credit report from a real estate company can hinder the tenant from re-renting through another property management company, securing a mortgage, etc.
RENT COLLECTION - Rent is due on the first and is considered late thereafter. A late fee of 10% of the rent is applied on the 4th. We charge an additional $10.00 per day from the first of the month on the 7th day of non-payment. Eviction process starts on the 10th. Tenants "bouncing" a check will not be able to write checks for a rolling 12 month period after good payment history has been established and only certified funds will be accepted for payment. Owner/Investor draw payments will be issued on the 10th of the month and sent regular mail to the address on file. We do not make direct payments to your mortgage company.
TENANT RETENTION - Good Owner/Investor/Tenants are the key to successful rental property management. We would like to satisfy our owners as well as the tenants and keep them happy by asking them to cooperate with the needs of the other party. Owners are required to keep their home in excellent condition, and tenants are required to maintain that condition.
MAINTENANCE - We understand your need as a landlord to be kept abreast of property condition both physically and financially. We try to contact you for approval for any maintenance work estimating more than $250.00 per item. However there are some cases where we use our best judgment on repairs without your authorization for emergency maintenance. Emergency maintenance includes but is not limited to loss of air or heat, water damage, main drain stoppage or electrical problems. Most emergency repairs can be fixed at the time of the service call. We use the local vendor, Pinpoint Maintenance Services, for most service calls due to the discounted pricing they give to our owners. There are times when we use other vendors due to scheduling, staffing, or stock availability. All vendors are required to be licensed, insured, and/or bonded. Prompt attention on the owners' behalf to maintenance issues keeps tenants happy and prevents minor problems turning into high dollar expenses.
INSPECTIONS - At the time of lease signing, the tenants are given a "Move-In/Move-Out" inspection report which must be completed and returned within 15 days. Tenants mark what is damaged, scratched, stained, dented, etc. at the time they move in. We would use this report upon move-out to compare and estimate any damages. Every Spring, an annual inspection is done to all of our properties, as preventative maintenance, so all of our owners are aware of the condition of their properties. This also allows routine maintenance to be processed and done, ie. exterior paint, roof repairs, deck repairs, etc. Inspections may also be done upon request.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - We use "Yardi Systems," a program primarily used in the function of property management to handle all billing, rent, late and renewal fees, and maintenance invoices. Statements are sent out along with owner draw checks and receipts/invoices. Our statements are easy to read and understand and are great when it comes to tax time. Year End Statements are sent at the end of the calendar year.
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