Property Management Insights

I recently saw a statistic that 35% of renters have not been able to pay rent. That is huge. So, what are your options if you are a landlord with a delinquent tenant? Try Rent Assistance. Last March, the  Georgia Department of Community Affairs started administering the Rent...

How much security deposit should you hold? The general rule of thumb is one month’s rent but over the last few years we have noticed that tenants are just leaving lots of personal property and not really cleaning their rental upon termination of their lease. They are expect...

Tip #18: Pre-screen before showing your property. Once your property has been listed, you'll start to receive tons of calls from potential tenants. Before you schedule a time to show your property, ask your inquirer questions to determine if they even qualify. Ask them: why a...

Train your tenants to be great tenants. Great tenants are hard to find so it’s up to you to make sure tenants know the rules and consequences. No matter how small a rule is, include it somewhere in the lease. When your tenant breaks a rule, enact punishment, which should al...

Early termination. No one likes a surprise termination by their tenant so to help ease the pain, make sure your lease has an early termination clause that outlines fines the tenant will incur. You can use these fines as a negotiating tool to ensure your property is readied withou...

Screen tenants - If you are planning to manage your own property, always screen your tenants. There are tenant screening services, such as TransUnion's SmartMove that allow you to perform limited tenant screening on your own. Owners get into trouble when they allow a prospect...

Tenant screening is the single most important activity for landlords who want to have a successful rental experience. Many homeowners get a feeling when they’re talking to prospective tenants, and they approve a tenant who is likeable. They will do a minimal job screening, ...

Over the years, since we have been in the property management business, we have found there are many elements to tenant placement that are key to making a profit. We’re talking about two of them today.Renting to Friends and FamilyIf you want to find the best tenant, don&rsq...

Homeowners Ken and Juanita didn't know what to do. When they married 40 years ago, Ken and Juanita bought their first home - a cute, brick ranch in Kennesaw. Over the years, they improved it, they raised their family in it and had many wonderful memories in it. Once the kids ...

The owners of Marietta Affordable Housing (MAH) came to us exasperated. They had gone through two management companies over the last 5 years and were not able to increase their profitability, couldn't get an accounting of funds, and were receiving code violations constantly. ...