Reluctant Landlords see the $$$ and not the $$$$$$$....they chase the few bucks they will loose if they do not rent their property QUICKLY and have to come out of their pocket for a mortgage payment and they do NOT see the many bucks they will loose if they take the wrong/unscreened residents who stop paying their rent, loose their jobs, or as is the more common case, vacate the property with no notice.
Reluctant Landlords who rely on real estate agents to locate and screen residents fair little better. Most real estate offices no longer have access to credit screening services as a result of their E&O insurance requirements and manditory site inspections by the screening service. As support staff has been reduced in many offices, these services have been discontinued and the agents may not know that they no longer have access to these basic tenant screening resources.
Likewise, they rarely have the proper forms for the leasing service. The lead based paint disclosure for SALES is NOT the same lead based paint disclosure for RENTALS....agents do not know this. In many states, there are mold disclosure requirements for one or both activities.
Tenant move-in inspections may be mandated by state landlord-tenant laws and if they are not followed, claims against the tenants' security deposit may well be forgiven at the end of the lease term.
A month of paying a mortgage versus 3 or 4 months of vacancy in mid-winter or a long drawn-out eviction is not worth the risk of not doing it RIGHT!!
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM * Over 45 years of property management experience to serve you *
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. is a full-service property management company. Our management program is tailored to high end single family homes of character, country and estate properties as well as town homes.
We offer listings in the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle county as well as Greene, Louisa counties and the Lake Monticello area of Fluvanna county.
"...to be a Virginian, either by Birth, Marriage, Adoption, or even on one's Mother's side, is an Introduction to any State in the Union, a Passport to any Foreign Country, and a Benediction from the Almightly God...." Anonymous
Now leasing quality rental homes in the Central Virginia area for summer availability * http://VaHomes4Rent.com
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM * GIBSON MANAGEMENT GROUP, Ltd.
Central Virginia
LandlordWhisperer
View our available Charlottesville, Albemarle and Lake Monticello rental homes online with photos and floor plans
"...to be a Virginian, either by Birth, Marriage, Adoption, or even on one's Mother's side, is an Introduction to any State in the Union, a Passport to any Foreign Country, and a Benediction from the Almighty God...." Anonymous
Too bad the very people that would benefit from this information either won't see it or will think that it does not apply to them. But, there is a reason professional property managers give advice. They know the market and how the business works. Owners should listen and take their advice.
I see unlawful detainer actions in court where the tenant walks all over the landlord because the landlord did not know what he was doing.
Jim - I've actually evicted tenants in Sonoma County courts and while doing so it not my FAVORITE part of property management, it comes with the kit. Luckily, I had good teachers and excellent attorney, Chuck Jensen, assisting me.
Sometime the "fear of the unknown" appears to late in the process for the Reluctant Landlord to realize they need a property manager.
Thank you for the post!!