Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: What are your management fees?

  A: The lessor of 10% of rents collected caped at $195/unit plus $495 leasing fee.
  
  Anyone can make a service cheaper by cutting corners and pricing it for less. Many first time landlords shop by price and then hope they get the service they desire. Over the long run, a great manager who applies insight and care may cost you a few bucks more per month but saves you thousands over time in lost rent, vacancy, maintenance problems, turn time and property deteriorations. That’s the price we charge for offering you great service and protecting the value of your asset.

• Q: What services do you provide in managing my rental?

  A:

  • Advertise your rental
  • Professional Photography
  • Narrated Video Tour
  • Show your property to prospective tenants
  • Application processing
  • Background and credit investigation
  • Fill vacancies
  • Execute up to date lease agreements
  • Handle tenant inquiries
  • Full service repair
  • Aggressive Rent collection
  • Online Accounting
  • Online Bill Pay
  • Move Out Deposit Itemization
  • Handle Tenant Requests
  • Serve Notices
  • 24 hour emergency call line for tenants
  • Attorney Supervised Evictions

• Q: What type of rental properties do you manage?

  A: We manage single family homes, townhouses, condos, apartment buildings and commercial properties.

• Q: Do you sell real estate too?

  A: Yes. We are a full service brokerage company that specializes in helping our clients acquire, manage, exchange, and sell properties. Being investors ourselves, you’ll get the professional advice you need to help you achieve your goals. We have the expertise you're looking for and have what it takes to negotiate on your behalf.

• Q: Are you a licensed brokerage / property management company?

  A: Yes, we are a licensed property management company and are licensed and regulated by the Bureau of Real Estate (BRE license # 01888599).

• Q: Why should I choose you?

  A: We provide an overall better owner experience by increasing your returns, lowering costs, placing great tenants, quick rent collection, regular inspections, efficient and effective maintenance, exceptional service, peace of mind and the following guarantees:

  • SATISFACTION GUARANTEE
    If you’re unhappy for any reason please let us know so we can address your concerns, but if we can not, we will let you out of the management agreement with no penalty or hoops to jump through.
  • TENANT PLACEMENT GUARANTEE
    If we place a tenant that leaves or needs to be removed during the first year term of their lease, we will find you a qualified replacement tenant with no additional leasing fees. Also, we guarantee a tenant within 30 days of hiring us or our leasing fee is FREE.
  • BEST VALUE GUARANTEE
    Anyone can make a service cheaper by cutting corners and pricing it for less. Many first time landlords shop by price and then hope they get the service they desire. Over the long run, a great manager who applies insight and care may cost you a few bucks more per month but saves you thousands over time in lost rent, vacancy, maintenance problems, turn time and property deteriorations.
  • 24-HOUR RESPONSE GUARANTEE
    We hear consistently how hard it is to get other managers to just return calls and emails. With us, you can rest assured that you’ll hear from us within a 24 hour period. We’re here to serve you.
  • OUR EXPERTISE CAN’T BE BEAT GUARANTEE
    We’ve been in the business for twenty three plus years and have the expertise & knowledge to protect the value of your property. We’re your trusted partners and are here to discuss all your real estate investment needs.

• Q: How do you increase my investment returns?

  A: We increase your investment returns by finding great tenants, reducing vacancy and turnaround times, quick rent collection and owner payments, cost-effective and efficient maintenance, lowering your overall costs, and increasing efficiencies through our combination of a world-class property management team.

• Q: Are there any problems associated with having a friend manage my rental property?

  A: There are a number of laws, rules, & mandatory disclosures, that apply to property management. If a “friend” is not working in the field on a full time basis, it is very difficult to remain up to date on property management issues. Violation of some of the rules such as the Federal Fair Housing Act can create major problems and penalties. As the property owner, you could be liable for the actions of an unlicensed “friend” acting as your agent. Our experience indicates that the management fees saved by using a “friend” are usually expensed by the owner many times over by way of unnecessary vacancies, below market rent, uneconomical repairs, unusual expenses, incomplete or missing forms etc.

• Q: How do you establish fair rent?

  A: Supply and demand dictate fair rent. We use our personal experience coupled with currently advertised rents and input from other property managers to arrive at a recommended fair rent for you to set.

• Q: How long will it take to rent my property?

  A: This is probably the most common question we are asked and the most difficult to answer. In most cases, our recommended fair rent is designed to provide your a rent paying tenant within a three week period. However, if within the first two weeks of vacancy we get poor or low demand, we will call you with the feedback and recommendation. We do everything possible to secure a qualified tenant and the highest possible rent.

• Q: How do you select or screen tenants?

  A: This can be very complex as there are both federal and state laws dealing with tenant discrimination. We consider this one of the most important steps in property management. Initial screening is conducted through series of questions asked of prospective tenants prior to even showing them a property. Assuming they are shown the property and desire to rent it, the next step is to have them submit a formal application. One of the key factors to us in their formal application is their rent to income ratio. After receiving their formal application, we conduct a rental audit on tenants using one or more commercial credit checking companies. Therefore, if the tenants have a history of late payments or other rental problems, there is a good chance it will be disclosed. We also obtain a credit report on tenants indicating if they have good credit history. The formal application requires references and the names of prior landlords; these are researched as applicable. There are also a number of intangible factors taken into account in approving a specific tenant. Our careful process helps insure obtaining good tenants. They pay on time, maintain properties, and are good neighbors. It adds up to getting a good return on your investment.

• Q: How and where do you advertise an available rental?

  A: We have found the best sources to be craigslist.com, apartments.com, apartmentlist.com, lovely.com, & zillow.com. We link all our ads to our web site, so prospective applicants can see more photos, ask a question, schedule a showing or apply online. We post all our our available listings on our website which gets viewed by referring tenants, assisted living agencies and other housing placement agencies. We also maintain an updated prospective tenant database. We answer all prospective tenant leads to insure we get your home leased out quickly.

• Q: Should I allow pets in my rental property?

  A: It is often difficult to find suitable rentals that will allow pets. Many pet owners, therefore, will pay a premium rent. On the downside, pets can destroy carpeting, yards, etc. We believe pets are an item that should be discussed on a case by case basis. We have a special pet addendum to protect your interest if you do decide to allow pets. We also charge tenants an additional $300 pet deposit to help protect your interests.

• Q: How long of a rental should I accept?

  A: Most long term rentals are written for a one year period. In most cases, we do not recommend a rental period longer than a year for two reasons. First, the rental contract is binding. If for some reason, you want the tenant to vacate earlier so that you can sell the property or move back into it, the rental contract has precedence. The tenant has the right to remain in the property for the entire length of the rental contract. Second, fair rents may increase. You may be able to charge the same tenants an increased rent at renewal time.

• Q: What can I expect to net each month?

  A: Your rental income will be the tenant’s gross rent less our normal 10% management fee, less any expenses paid by us, less any payments (mortgage, etc) we make on your behalf. We require all owners to maintain a minimum balance of $300 at all times for emergency repairs. Depending upon the amount of recurring bills that we pay for you (mortgage, association dues, property taxes, etc.) the reserve balance will reflect the amount needed. Therefore, if we have expensed funds on your behalf (e.g repairs) we build your balance back to $300 from rental receipts. We can provide you with a detailed investment prospectus that will outline what we expect will be your net income.

• Q: When do you distribute owner funds and send statements?

  A: We distribute owners funds & email out statements on the tenth day of every month to give us enough time to collect all the outstanding rents. If the tenth falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then we will pay it out on the following business day. You will receive an email confirmation once we process your owner distribution.

• Q: How do you handle authorize and non-authorized repairs?

  A: We attempt to obtain authorization from owners for repairs greater than $300 prior to making any repairs. However, emergencies occur at times that necessitate immediate action. We have developed an excellent working relationship with a number of repair personnel, plumbers, handyman, etc. Our vendors are very experienced working with rental properties and keeping costs reasonable. They are able to provide us expert input as to whether a problem was caused by tenant abuse or normal wear and tear. Because we provide them a considerable amount of business, they are usually fairly receptive to unscheduled work that needs to be done quickly. Many of them provide better rates to us than would be available otherwise.

• Q: How do you handle the late or non-payment of rent?

  A: We have wrestled with this problem for several years balancing the rights of the owner, the legitimate reasons a tenant may have for falling behind in the rent, and the expense of taking action against the tenant. Based on our experience, we have implemented an automatic series of letters (starting with a three day demand letter and ending with a notice of eviction). We have found this system works well in getting the tenant to pay their rent and / or voluntarily vacating the premises. Due to our hands on culture, our due diligence when accepting tenants, and the relationship we have built with each one of our tenants, we have a history of keeping our default rate much lower than industry standard. We keep the owner informed of our actions every step of the way.

• Q: Who holds the tenant’s security deposit?

  A: We hold the tenant’s security deposit on your behalf in a client trust operating account. When the tenant vacates, we are required by law to provide them with an itemized deduction statement and return any unapplied deposit back to them.

• Q: I have insurance through my HOA, why do I need a separate policy?

  A: The HOA’s insurance covers items in your association’s documents (Roof, exterior walls etc.) Each HOA is different with what it covers. A private Homeowners policy covers the interior contents of the property (cabinets, appliances etc.). A Landlord policy covers owners for many different issues including liability issues.

• Q: What type of insurance do I need for my property?

  A: You will need to have Landlord policy naming Property Upsurge Inc as additional insured, additional interest or have a provision that covers the property manager.

• Q: What do I need to get Property Upsurge Inc to manage my property?

  A: All we need to get started is a signed contract, Insurance information and a copy of your keys.

• Q: What documentation will I need to provide you?

  A: If your property is located in a HOA, you will need to provide copies of the Rules and Regulations, The names of your HOA Manager, Management Company and telephone number. If you have vendors that work at the property we will need a list of any and all contractual service items and/or vendors, including their representatives names and telephone numbers (e.g. laundry service provider, waste service provider, landscaper, pest control service contractor, Home Warranty or appliance warranty provider (s) etc.) If your property is currently rented we will need a copy of all current rental agreements as well as any other relevant and pertinent documentation such as credit applications, correspondence, notices sent to tenants etc.