Property Management Frequently Asked Questions!

1. How long does it take to lease my property?

Generally, Discover Property Management can have your property leased within 15-20 days of being on the market. However, some homes will lease quicker and some homes will take a little longer to find a qualified resident. We will begin to market your home the moment it is rent ready! The best time to have your home on the market is before the first of the month as tenants are usually looking to make a move at the end of the month. Which means that if your house is priced right, in good showing condition and available to occupy by the 1st then there should be no reason to miss a month of rent. We will guide you to price your home right the first time so we don’t have to reduce after it is on the market. This way you can receive a full month rent instead of a pro-rated amount after a price reduction. At the time you turn over your property to us to handle, we will inform you of the current market conditions, which will give everyone a better idea of market time.

2. When you find a resident for my rental home, how do you qualify them?

We strive to provide you with the caliber of residents that you want in your rental home. We can accomplish this by a complete national credit report on each of our adult applicants, a complete verification of their rental history from past landlords, a verification of their employment, an eviction search and a background check.

3. How quickly does Discover Property Management process monthly rents and statements to property owners?

At Discover Property Management we pride ourselves on a quick turnaround of your rents and statements. We generally process and mail the rents and statements by the 10th of each month.

4. How often and how are the property inspections conducted?

When your property is vacant we generally inspect it each week. The next inspection is done prior to residents moving in. This is known as the "move in inspection", where we detail the condition of your property on a move in inspection form. We inspect the exterior of our properties on a periodic basis and we also conduct other inspections when requested, or if we determine that checking the "property out" is warranted. Within 90 days after the residents move in, we contact them to ensure all is well with your property and your residents. When the residents move out of your property we do another detailed inspection know as the "move out "inspection. The move out inspection is done to ensure that the residents returned the rental home back to the condition they leased it in. Pictures will be taken if necessary. If there are any damages found, we will impose a claim on the tenant’s security deposit as required by the Florida Landlord/Tenants Laws, (F.S. 83), if no damage is found, then we promptly return the security deposit to the former residents.

5. How are rent collections handled?

All rents are due on the 1st of every month and late on the 3rd of each month. At that time we send out a friendly reminder and the late fees are assessed. You will find that we are one of the only companies that provide you with a 50/50 spilt of the late fees. Any remaining residents who have not paid by the 6Th will be served with the legal paperwork to file for evictions if they have not paid in full by the 15th. All paperwork, including, but not limited to, copies of the lease and our notices served upon the resident are forwarded to our law firm around the 15th of the month, (or sooner if you request) to proceed immediately in filing the eviction action.

6. What if I want to sell my property, can Discover Property Management help?

Absolutely!! Discover Property Management is associated with Century 21 Discover Realty, Inc. All the property managers are licensed Real Estate Agents that would be more than glad to help you by providing you with all the information needed to help make your decision to list your property. You will also be a Preferred Client and you will receive a special commission rate if we list your property. We are here to serve YOU!

7. Do you guarantee the residents that you place in my rental home?

GUARANTEE

Should any tenant that we place into your rental home move out and break their lease (for any reason) during the first 6 months of their lease, we will waive our normal fee and re-rent your home to a new tenant for free! (Advertising cost excluded) Should any tenant that we place into your rental home move out and break their lease after the first 6 months of their lease, we will reduce and pro-rate our normal leasing fee to you!

Note: All advertising cost is the expense of the property owner.
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At Discover Property Management, you will never pay two leasing fees in the same 12 month period!

8. Is Discover Property Management the cheapest company in town?

Probably not. It seems there is a new property management company starting out every day, trying to beat everyone else price. Our fees are very competitive and we certainly are NOT the most expensive. On the other hand, we charge a fair fee for a tremendous service.

Example:
Developing personal relationships with our customers.
Radio, pager or cell phone dispatched agents for the showing of your properties.
Video taped property inspections.
Our extremely careful tenant selection process.
Our leasing fee\tenant guarantee.
We show properties by appointment 7 days a week.
When all fees are considered, we turn out to be less expensive than most companies and our work is as good if not better.

9. Who handles problems late at night?

Our property Managers take turns being "on call" to handle late night calls from our residents. Many times we solve problems right over the phone avoiding what might have been an additional maintenance expense.

10. How are maintenance issues handled?

At Discover Property Management, we assist our property owners and residents by having independent qualified maintenance technicians do all necessary repairs. To avoid a conflict of interest with our property owners, we do not access a surcharge to our owners on any maintenance or repair items. We ask that your tenants request all maintenance items in writing and we assess the resident an administrative fee for all maintenance and repair items when necessary.


What Owners can expect from Us?

We want to be right on target when meeting your expectations. The purpose of this section is to present the benefits our property owners can expect to receive from Discover Property Management. When establishing a personal relationship with our customers, it is important that each party understands exactly what is expected of the other. Our primary objective is to attain the goals and objectives of our customers and their rental properties.

We believe that familiarizing you with our process of how we lease and manage your rental property, we can avoid surprises that could occur later on. It is important that you realize that we will move forward with our administrative process as outlined herein, unless you otherwise direct us in writing. Therefore it is to your benefit to review and understand the following services that are automatically provided and instituted by Discover Property Management for the benefit of you and your Property.

The following is an outline of just some of the benefits and services that our clients can expect from us:


    Leasing

You can expect that we will place our attractive "Home for Rent" yard sign on your property, (if allowed) prior to any known vacancy, or immediately if you have just listed your rental home with us.
You can expect that we will place your listed rental property in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) within 24 hours of signing with us. This will give all the Realtors access to your property through the computer listing service.
You can expect that we will list your property on our web site for the general public to view when looking for rental properties.
You can expect that we will also list your property at The Naval Base Housing Office.
You can expect that we will show your rental property 7 days a week to all prospective renters until your home is leased.
You can expect that all rental applications will be subject to:

1. A full credit report on each adult applicant.
2. An eviction search to ensure that the applicant has not been evicted in the preceding 7 years.
3. A verification of the applicant’s former landlord’s references
4. A verification of the applicants’ employment or income.
5. A background check will be done on the applicant as well.

You can expect that we will lease your property at the asking amount of rent (as outlined in your management agreement) or higher. We will not lease your property at a lower amount, without first obtaining your approval.
You can expect that once the rental applicant process is approved, we will complete and execute the lease agreement prepared by our attorney and give the resident possession of your rental home.
You can expect that we will conduct a video taped move in property inspection and complete our detailed inspection data sheet of your property.
You can expect to be notified by our company that your property has been leased. A copy of the lease agreement is available, once all parties have properly executed it and the residents have taken possession.

    Lease Renewals

We will attempt to renew the residents lease at least 60 days prior to the lease expiration date.
We will renew the residents lease for another year at the same or slightly higher rent amount, if possible. We will not renew the lease at a lower amount of rent unless we have received specific permission to do so.
We will place a "For Rent" sign back on the property and begin showing it in the event your current resident does not renew. This will be done within 30 days prior to that resident moving out.
We will renew the residents lease agreement, or re-rent your property to a new tenant, unless we have written directive from you not to renew the lease or re-rent the property.

    Property Inspections

We will conduct the property inspections on your property as outlined in the Frequently Asked Questions (item #4) of this page.

    Rent Collections and Delinquencies

At Discover Property management, we do not tolerate the delinquent payment of residents. We are careful to explain this policy to new residents to avoid any misunderstandings that might arise later. You can expect that we will make EVERY effort to collect rents in a timely manner. See the frequently asked question section item # 5 on this handbook for more details. However situations arise where evictions are necessary. After we deliver the 3 day notice, we can file for evictions at anytime. For a complete standard eviction the attorney charges a $250.00 filing fee. We can recoup that cost, you are responsible for, through posing a claim on the tenant’s security deposit. We try to make the process as easy for you as possible. If we do have to appear in court because of an above and beyond security deposit claim, you will need to appear with us or provide us with a temporary power of attorney to handle the situation for you.

    Rent Processing and Accounting

Here at Discover Property Management, our property management software is the top software in the industry.
You will receive a monthly computerized report showing all income and expenses of your rental property.
You will also receive a year end summary statement for your tax purposes showing all of your yearly income and expenses and categorized in an easy to understand manner.
You will also have the option of having us make your homeowner’s association payments, if you direct us to do so. Provided that the adequate funds are available in your property account. We will not make these payments if the funds are not available in your account.
You can expect that in the last month of a tenants lease, we will hold funds in your property account to protect you by ensuring adequate funds are available to make your home rent ready again. This is done to ensure a faster re-lease time and less vacancy time.

    Property Maintenance and Repairs

Rental homes must be properly maintained in order to preserve the value of the investment and maintain a positive relationship with the residents. Florida also has laws that require landlords to comply with certain basic maintenance and repair items.

We will not affect repairs to your property in excess of $350.00, without first obtaining your approval.
NOTE: This excludes repairs deemed by the manager as emergency repairs or repairs that are required to be effected to bring your property into compliance by laws, governmental building codes, zoning, safety and municipal codes, or the restrictive and protective covenants of your homeowners association and/or repairs that in the managers sole judgment are necessary for the safety of the tenants or your property. The Manager shall proceed with these repairs and bring property into compliance, subject to funds being available in property owner’s account.

If your property is vacant, we will have necessary items repaired to improve the property’s show-ability to prospective renters. This means a faster lease up and less vacancy for you. Examples would include but are not limited to: lawn service, maid service, pool service and painting when necessary. We will spend all of their security deposit first (not your money) to put your property back into its pre-leased condition.

We will also have the locks changed between each tenancy to avoid the possibility of major liability to you.
We will only use repairmen, vendors and tradesmen that are properly licensed and insured to handle the type of work being performed on your property.
At your request, you will receive copies of the original invoices of all repair work done on your property.

    Communications

We believe that communication is the essential element of a good working relationship and the success of our company. That is the underlying reason for the creation of this Property Owner’s handbook.
In today’s business environment, no can assume to know or read the minds of another, or be certain of their goals and objectives. Discover Property Management has gone to great lengths to be accessible to our residents and property owners. We are available by phone, fax and e-mail.