Trusted Metro Philadelphia Property Management Services

This helps us ensure timely rent collection and an excellent rental experience. Along with tenant placements, we also take care of tenant evictions in a lawful manner. Once you entrust your property to us, we ensure that we bring in the right renters to take care of your property.

We have a dedicated Marketing Department that ensures your rental property is advertised on more than 20 websites. Our team tracks all inquiries, showings, and applications, and provides you with bi-weekly Property Marketing Reports so that you stay up-to-date with your property’s performance.

• Our Marketing Department takes care of everything, from editing marketing pictures to include our watermark (to prevent fraud) to publishing ads on multiple websites. We no longer use “For Rent” signs as they tend to attract low-quality prospects and increase the risk of break-ins and theft.
• To increase showings, we exclusively schedule them via our online scheduling software, which allows prospects to book showings at their convenience, 24/7/365. Prospects receive multiple automated communications after a showing to encourage them to apply and provide feedback.
• We track scheduled versus completed showings and analyze the numbers to identify any potential problems or trends that need to be addressed. With our Marketing Department, you can trust that your rental property is being advertised effectively and efficiently.

Our bi-weekly Property Marketing Reports provide you with the Period and Total amounts for various metrics including Web Views, Inquiries, Showings Scheduled, Completed Showings, and Applications. We analyze this data to provide you with feedback on how we can improve the renting process for your property and get it rented faster. Our aim is to find the right balance between the length of vacancy, rent amount, and tenant quality to ensure the efficient rental of your property.

Inadequate applicant screening can result in lost rent, legal and court expenses, and costly damages.

Our applicant screening process is thorough and includes the following steps:

• Full credit, eviction, and criminal checks are conducted instead of relying on score-driven reports.
• Rental history is verified to ensure the actual property owner is providing the information.
• Stability of income and employment is confirmed through YTD pay stubs and W-2s, which are analyzed to ensure they are not falsified.
• Income is calculated in three ways to identify stability anomalies: pay period, YTD average, and YTD + W-2 average.
• A debt-to-income analysis is conducted, which is more accurate than the traditional 3x rent requirement.
• Bank statements are reviewed to check for NSF issues, to verify that deposits support income, and to prove Move-In funds. Additionally, unusual transactions are analyzed.
• Pet screening is also conducted.

To ensure that approved applicants are committed, we require a Holding Fee before your property is marked as pending. We will continue to show your pending property and accept backup applications until MoveIn takes place.

Our Lease Signings process involves signing our annually reviewed, 27+ page lease prepared by our attorney, completing the MoveIn Checklist & Video, and publishing all documents to your online portal.

To minimize the vacancy period of your property, we set Lease Terms to avoid end-dates between October to February whenever possible. This period is the most challenging time to find new tenants, and we work to avoid it as much as possible.

Tenants in dire situations may resort to desperate measures, so we take a strong stance in collecting past due balances by implementing a rigorous eviction process. We provide tenants with various options to prevent eviction, but enforce deadlines to mitigate potential losses. Owners can track the eviction process and milestones through their online portal.

Our lease specifies that rent is due on the first of each month, with a 5-day grace period. Eviction notices are issued on the first business day 1-3 days after the 5th of the month. We tenaciously pursue payments while simultaneously proceeding with the eviction process. Payment plans are accepted, but due to the possibility of tenants making false promises over the phone, we require written submission of payment plans, including specific dates and amounts, as well as proof of income to support the payments.

We call tenants at least six times throughout the eviction process to give them the opportunity to pay and halt the proceedings:

• When the eviction notice is sent to the tenant
• When the notice is sent to the attorney to schedule a court date
• When the court date is confirmed
• When a court judgment is obtained
• After the court-ordered 10-day period to pay expires
• When a Writ of Eviction is obtained, and bailiffs are scheduled

Owners often request more frequent calls, but multiple calls will not necessarily motivate tenants to pay if they do not have the funds. We provide owners with our Eviction Process Milestones on their online Rent Roll Report.

Maintaining rental properties can be a difficult task, as it requires striking a balance between satisfying tenants’ needs and meeting owners’ budgets. Our team handles all aspects of maintenance, repairs, and renovations, while aiming to provide competitive pricing and reasonable turnaround times. We provide owners with detailed bids, invoices, and visual documentation to support all expenses.

We understand the importance of addressing maintenance concerns in a timely manner to ensure tenant satisfaction and encourage lease renewals. However, the bidding process can sometimes cause delays in resolving issues, especially when multiple bids are requested.

Another challenge we face is determining which maintenance issues should take priority. Our approach is to prioritize maintenance needs that align with the property’s surroundings, so we can avoid overspending on unnecessary upgrades or neglecting critical repairs and gaining a negative reputation.

When our clients hire us, they often inquire if we have our own maintenance staff and contractors, but then request multiple bids when service is needed. However, there are some practical issues that we ask our clients to keep in mind:

• If we are requested to get multiple bids, we rarely have enough time to search and interview contractors for bids, especially for tenant-occupied properties. We only have a few days before the tenant becomes upset and may report the issue to the city, resulting in a potential ticket or rent withholding.
• It is not easy to find dependable yet affordable contractors. If they are good, they are usually booked weeks or months in advance, and many good contractors do not advertise.
• Contractors often require 50% down payment to start a job, but we find the risk involved in this approach is too high. We prefer to cover the materials and pay labor only when work is satisfactorily completed. Many contractors refuse to agree to this.
• The cheapest contractors often work for cash to avoid taxes and demand immediate payment upon completion. However, we require them to complete a W-9 for tax purposes, and we need time to inspect their work before paying them. Therefore, they do not work with us.

We manage a diverse range of tenants with varying levels of independence and need for attention. Our policies and procedures are designed to be strict yet fair in order to effectively manage all tenants. To ensure accountability, we document all tenant communications and notify you of any important developments.

Our staff follows extensive written policies and procedures to consistently enforce the terms of the lease. Any problems that arise are identified and addressed promptly or escalated to you as necessary. By being strict yet fair, we typically have tenants who follow the terms of their lease and want to renew for additional years.

Renewals are handled through our evergreen lease contract, which automatically renews unless proper notice is given by either the tenant or landlord. Each auto-renewal period includes a 5% increase, but this can be negotiated by both parties as long as it’s done within the notice requirements. Our lease requires a 60-day notice period instead of the traditional 30-day notice, giving us more time to evaluate your property for advertising and market it for a new tenant.

We conduct regular inspections to assess the state of your properties. These inspections include annual interior checks, exterior drive-bys, move-in checklists, move-out assessments, and city rental license inspections. We make an effort to record video footage of all inspections and provide copies to property owners.

It’s crucial to understand that inspectors cannot see what’s behind walls or beneath the ground since they don’t have x-ray vision. If you’ve ever watched a TV show about renovating older houses, you’re probably familiar with the surprises that arise when work begins. While it’s easy to blame inspectors for missed issues, it’s not logical to hold them accountable.

Similar to how you receive a monthly bank statement, we provide you with a monthly Owner Statement to keep track of your property’s performance. Your statement for the previous month will be sent to you via email on the 15th of each month and can also be accessed at any time on your online portal.

Every monthly Owner Statement includes a Portfolio Summary section, which provides an overview of the income and expenses for all the properties you own. The statement also shows the income and expenses for each individual property, along with details on Unpaid Bills, Management Fee Calculations, and Security Deposits.

Similar to how you can view your bank account activity online and see transactions since the last statement, we offer you various live reports that provide the same convenience. These reports allow you to monitor tenant payments, access information about your properties, and compare monthly income and expenses.

We typically expect tenants to set up their own electric and gas accounts, but we closely monitor utilities for vacant properties and tenants who are being evicted. While we prefer to handle all utilities, property owners have the option to self-manage. Water bills are the only ones that we can directly manage since most Metro Philadelphia cities only allow owner accounts for water.

All utility documents we receive for your properties are scanned and uploaded to your portal for easy access. For vacant or multi-family properties, we can either pay utility bills on your behalf or you can pay them directly.

To prevent service shutoffs, we participate in the landlord programs offered by Metro Philadelphia utility companies that allow us to register your properties. This way, we receive alerts if a tenant utility account is flagged for shutoff, which is particularly crucial during the winter months to avoid frozen and burst water lines that could cause significant property damage.

In most cities across Metro Philadelphia, it is mandatory to have a periodic rental license or registration in order to legally charge and collect rent. Our team handles the entire application process for you, arranges any necessary inspections, and takes care of any repairs that may be required to avoid any citations or penalties.

To ensure that we never miss any deadlines or required inspections, we have customized our software to track all due dates and expiration dates. We also generate monthly reports for our own reminders to ensure that your properties remain compliant with all local regulations.

If there are any application or inspection fees involved, we will communicate them to you in a timely manner. Similarly, if any repairs are required by the city, our Maintenance Department will communicate them to you promptly.

Are you interested in acquiring more rental properties? Share your budget, target ROI or CAP rate, and we’ll help you find single-family homes, 2-4 unit properties, and apartment buildings. A $500 upfront fee is required, but it will be credited to any purchase made through us within 90 days.

Unlike most real estate agents who focus on getting properties below market value, we understand that the purchase price should be based on your ROI or CAP rate, not just a discount off the asking price. We’ve seen many real estate investors exposed to issues such as agents not requiring sellers to provide information on existing tenants before closing the purchase, not informing investors about Michigan Property Transfer Affidavits, and not evaluating neighborhoods for rental viability. We prioritize these concerns and can assist you in identifying properties that meet your criteria.

We set up automated MLS searches based on your criteria, which you can choose to receive daily, weekly, etc. We’re available to discuss and review properties that you identify for possible purchase. We don’t pre-screen properties unless you want to pay for an evaluation, as most listings have multiple pictures and your purchase offer should include an inspection clause. Once you have a property under contract, we can assist with scheduling a formal inspection or evaluation, as well as obtaining bids for any necessary work.

Upon your purchase of a new rental property, we can begin repairs and advertising for tenants. Note that we also have access to distressed properties that may have discounted prices, which we’ll forward to you as we find them.