Property Owner Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What do property managers do?
A: Property manager responsibilities include setting and collecting rent, handling maintenance requests, filling vacant units and potentially setting the budget for the property. Property managers often take care of property that real estate investors either do not live near or do not wish to personally manage.
Q: How much do you charge?
A: Our fee us usually between 8% and 10% of monthly rents collected. Our fee covers the costs for the actual management of the property — repairs, rent-collecting and maintenance.
Typically, landlords will pay a tenant placement fee on top of the property management fee. This covers the cost of the tasks associated with tenant placement, such as credit and employment checks. This can cost anywhere from $100 – $200 per tenant.
Maintenance costs range from $75-$100 an hour. Depending on the property and property manager.
Q: What additional fees do you charge?
A: Lease renewal fee – This covers the administrative work required for the lease renewal process.
Administrative fee – This fee covers the in-office processing of invoices and other administrative tasks.
Hourly Agent Fee – This fee covers time requirements for property managers to personally be present for legal and other tenant management matters.
Eviction processing Fees – This fee covers office administrative time and agent time required.
Q: Why should I choose Advanced Solutions over another property management company?
A: The main reasons you should work with us are: Our Experience, our perspective as property investors, our systems approach to management, our certifications and our staff. Experience, The leadership team has over 65 years combined experience managing rental properties. Market Knowledge, Our leasing staff is able to set rental rates. Perspective – As landlords ourselves, we see things from an owner’s point of view and are constantly asking, “What would the owner do?”. Technology – We use the latest technology that allows us to effectively market and manage your assets. Systems approach All activities carried out by ASPM, either daily or monthly, are strictly defined by ASPM procedures. Certifications ASPM owners and property managers are Certified Commercial Advisors.
Q: When should I hire a property management company?
A: The most common reasons we get called in to help are: Time value issues, owners moving to another state, owners rental portfolio is growing and tenant management issues. For time value issues, at some point in every do it yourself landlord’s life, there comes a time when their time is better spent doing what they specialize in or when they feel time spent doing what they love is more important than spending time doing hands on property management. Owners moving to another state. These cases are pretty straightforward. Self managing a rental property can spiral out of control very quickly when trying to manage from another state. The owner’s rental business is growing. Dealing with multiple properties leads to headaches with after hours call outs, tenant management and tenant turnover issues. A very common reason we get called is to deal with tenant management issues.
Q: Does a Property Manager need to be licensed in Utah?
A: Any company that offers any type of property management service must be licensed in Utah.
The state of Utah has multiple requirements that must be fulfilled before they will grant a real estate license to the company and the company must be licensed to practice real estate or property management in Utah. Below are some of the license requirements:
- 120 beginning hours and 18 hours yearly thereafter of education
- Pass a comprehensive exam
- Full personal background check
- Insurance requirements
Most property management companies meet these requirements, but most individual property managers do not. Be sure to ask your property manager if they are personally and individually licensed to practice property management in Utah. (All Advanced Solutions Property Management property managers are personally licensed and fully trained to practice property management in Utah. Confirm that your property manager is licensed by clicking here.
Q: Aren’t all property management companies basically the same?
A: The answer is no. Many property management companies offer limited services at discounted pricing, while other firms are designed for owners who prefer to be actively involved in the day-to-day management of their properties. Full-service firms, such as ASPM, are designed to provide owner-clients with a full-service, stress-free, hands-off experience in which we handle all aspects of the property management cycle with professionalism and expertise. Property management in Utah can be complex, and you want a professional to oversee what may be your most valuable asset.
Q: How long has Advanced Solutions Property Management been in business?
A: Advanced Solutions Property Management (ASPM) has served real estate investors and residents since 2011. We strive to provide an unparalleled experience for both our owner-investors and tenant-residents.
Q: Will Advanced Solutions Property Management manage my property if I already have a tenant in place?
A: Yes. We have extensive experience in taking on the management of a property with a current tenant in place. We often take over management in situations where a tenant may be delinquent in rent or the owners are having difficulty managing a current tenant. When this occurs, we conduct a full lease audit and work with the tenant to ensure that they comply with the terms of the lease and bring their rent current, or, when necessary, vacate the property.
Q: Does Advanced Solutions Property Management manage furnished or short term rentals?
A: No, we do not manage furnished properties or short-term rentals. We specialize in long-term rentals.
Q: What local and federal laws do I need to be aware of before I rent out my house?
A: There are a variety of laws that govern rental real estate, including federal and state fair housing laws, security deposit disposition laws, habitability laws, tenant rights laws, applicant screening laws, rent-ready standards, and more. We ensure that your property and the management services provided are fully compliant with all applicable rules, regulations, and laws.
Q: Can I get some owner-client references?
A: Any company can find a few owner-clients to say something nice about them. The best way to research a company is to review our online reputations. See our independent Google reviews. Click here to view our online reviews.
Q: Do I have to pay a management fee if my property is vacant?
A: No. We believe we should only be paid if you get paid. So our management fee is a percentage of the actual rent we collect. If we do not collect any rent, or if the property is vacant, you don’t pay us anything.
Q: How will you market my rental?
A: ASPM will efficiently market your properties which translates to filling vacancies faster. ASPM’s leasing features start with a professional web presence to attract the right renters and continues with online guest cards, rental applications, and digital lease signing.
Key Features:
• A professional web presence makes a good first impression and amplifies your assets.
• Eye-catching vacancy postings are featured on our website, along with dozens of online
rental listing sites.
• Weekly report includes marketing activity and prospective tenant feedback on your rental unit.
Q: Should I leave behind my washer & dryer?
A: You are responsible for and must maintain any personal property you leave behind. That means that if you provide it, you are legally liable for issues related to any personal property you leave behind, and you must fix it when it breaks. Therefore, we do not recommend that our owners leave washers and dryers on the property. And if you do, only leave well-functioning washers and dryers.
Q: How long will it take to get my property rented?
A: Properties that are properly presented and appropriately priced should rent within 30 days or less. We will provide you with pricing recommendations as well as weekly activity feedback to ensure that we minimize any vacancy time.
Q: How do you screen tenants?
A: Thorough tenant screening is the cornerstone of a positive property management experience. Our in-house screening process integrates technology with traditional “landlord references” to ensure that we place qualified tenants in our properties. We comply with all federal and state laws governing applicant screening. Click here for details
Q: Is it possible for me to be involved in the selection of a tenant?
A: No. You may rely on us to minimize the risk of placing a tenant of poor quality. Our applicant screening process has processed more than 20,000 applicants, and we are well-versed in identifying high-quality tenant-residents. We comply with all fair housing rules and regulations, as well as Utah applicant screening laws.
Q: Do I have to accept pets in my rental?
A: While you are not required to accept pets in your rental unit, over 70% of Utah tenants have pets. This means that if you choose not to accept pets, you are reducing your pool of prospective inquiries by 70%. You must accept reasonable accommodations that prospective and current tenants request regarding the use of emotional support animals(ESA). CLICK HERE for more information on ESA requests.
Q: Do I have to accept ‘Section 8’ or subsidized housing in my rental?
A: Yes. Utah state law includes ‘source of income’ as a protected status. This means landlords may not discriminate based on where tenants receive their income (including government-subsidized programs).
Q: Who provides the lease agreement?
A: We utilize an in-house, custom, attorney-prepared lease agreement that has been designed to be fair and provide maximum legal protection for our owner clients. We also include pet addendums and EPA-required lead-based paint disclosures when needed.
Q: Do I need to sign the lease for each new tenant?
A: No. As your agent, Advanced Solutions Property Management executes all of the legal documents on your behalf.
Q: How do I access my financial reports?
A: Our owner-clients have access to a secure online portal that provides them with 24/7 access to financial reporting. Click here for details.
Q: How do I get my money each month?
A: At the end of each month, we close out the monthly accounting cycle and process a direct deposit of your funds, generally by the 15th day of the month.
Q: Do you inspect my rental property?
A: Bi-annual property inspections are carried out by our inspectors. The inspection is intended to verify that the property is well-maintained, that there are no lease violations, and that potential deferred maintenance issues are identified before they become a problem.
Q: How do you handle tenant late payments?
A: Dealing with tenant payment issues is easily the largest problem faced by landlords and one of the biggest reasons we get called in to help. Avoiding payment issues in the 1st place starts with a detailed initial application. The more detail you have on the initial application, the easier things can be later if issues do arise.When we have a late payment situation. We will 1st, Immediately add late fees to the tenant ledger. 2nd, we add any posting fees that are included on the lease. 3rd, we fill out and deliver a 3 Day Pay Or Quit notice to the tenant. The Pay Or Quit is one of the most powerful tools in the landlord’s toolbox when used consistently. Being consistent in the use of the pay or quit is essential when it comes to tenant payment behavior. Using the system consistently drives the desired outcome.
Q: How updated does my property need to be in order to rent it?
A: The quality of a property is directly proportional to the quality of the tenant it will attract. Therefore, you want your property to be updated and CLEAN! We can take care of getting your property fully rent-ready to ensure it meets the state habitability requirements and attracts high quality applicants.
Q: Who takes care of maintenance?
A: We will handle all repair requests, including middle-of-the-night emergencies, and we use pre-screened, high-quality vendors. Click here for details.
Q: How do you handle maintenance emergencies?
A: ASPM has a 24 hour tenant maintenance hotline for after hours and holiday emergencies. Once a call is received by the call center, the caller is verified to have a true emergency(imminent threat to lif e or property). If a true emergency, then the call is then forwarded to a maintenance technician. The maintenance technician will arrive on site, assess the situation and effect the minim emergency repairs needed. Once the emergency is under control, the technician will leave the scene and then go back to the unit during regular business hours to complete whatever repairs are needed at a c more cost effective labor rate.
Q: Is there a maintenance or escrow reserve I need to pay?
A: Yes. We will collect a $500 escrow reserve from you. This is YOUR money and it will be deposited into our bank trust account as the reserve for YOUR property. We will potentially use these funds to pay for expenses that may arise between the time we send you your rental income, and the time we collect the rent from the tenant the following month. But we will always maintain this reserve as long as we manage your property. When we stop managing your property it will be returned to you.
Q: Who holds the security deposit?
A: ASPM maintains all tenant security deposits in a state mandated security deposit trust account. This is done in order to comply with the State of Utah security deposit and trust accounting rules and regulations as determined by the Utah Division of Real Estate.
Q: How do you handle difficult tenants?
A: As a landlord, it is your responsibility to provide safe, secure and clean housing to tenants, but in some cases you will have to deal with difficult tenants that can be extremely time consuming and very costly for landlords. Examples of these difficulties are: Constant late tenant payments or constantly asking for more time with rent payments, unauthorized persons or pets on premise, Tenant damage to the premise, threatening or abusive behavior from the tenant or other tenant behavior that negatively affects the rest of your tenants or neighbors. Having a strong lease is key in making sure you are able to manage your investments and also deal with difficult tenants if needed. When dealing with problem tenants, adhering to the terms of the lease is imperative. Penalty fees, 3-day notices to comply or vacate and 3-day notices to pay or quit are the strongest tools in the landlord toolbox when it comes to problem tenants. We also want to emphasize that if you are going to use any of the above notices, that you must be willing to follow through with the terms of the notices.
Q: When the tenant moves out, who does the security deposit return?
A: Upon the departure of a tenant, we will perform a property inspection and complete the security deposit return process. We will withhold any funds from the tenant’s security deposit that are legally due and allowable. Utah state law clearly outlines what items may not be charged to a tenant’s security deposit, and all security deposit returns are completed in accordance with state law. This protects the landlord from legal liability.
Q: Can I do my own property repairs or use my own vendors?
A: During the time when a property is vacant, you are welcome to perform any make-ready work that you would like to perform. Once a tenant is living in the property, however, we must screen all individuals who will be accessing the property in order to protect the tenant-residents. Therefore, we will only use our pre-screened and pre-approved vendors. If you have a preferred vendor, please provide us with their contact information, as we are always looking to add new high quality vendors to our group.
Q: Can I use a home warranty company?
A: We strongly discourage the use of home warranty companies as they often provide a delayed, and less than exceptional experience and outcome.
Q: Is Advanced Solutions Property Management the best option for every real estate investor?
A: No. We are a relationship based property management business and we work with owner-clients who are looking for a full-service experience and believe in providing well maintained properties. We reject the idea of a landlord vs tenant mentality. Instead, we believe that when property management is performed with integrity, both the resident and the landlord benefit.
Q: Can I negotiate or change the terms of the management agreement?
A: No. Our property management agreement is designed to provide maximum flexibility to our owner-clients (it is a month-to-month term with no termination fees or penalties). The agreement is also designed to allow us to deliver a consistent, high-quality, full-service management experience to our owner-clients.
Q: Can you help me buy or sell real estate?
A: Yes, We provide sales services to our owner-client group, and we can assist you in acquiring another rental property or selling your current property when the time is right. We have closed over $40,000,000 in real estate transactions.
Q: How is the amount of the security deposit determined for my rental property?
A: Our security deposits are structured to provide maximum protection to the owner, while ensuring minimum financial impact to a qualified applicant. For more information on our applicant screening process visit HERE.
Q: How do I get started?
A: Click HERE and one of our Executive Property Managers will contact you.