Tenant Management System
About Us…
Established in 1995, Tenant Management System has specialized in taking the uncertainty out of management for the small income property owner. Our services emphasize timely responses and detailed reporting to help income property owners realize maximum return on their real estate investment.
We will...
Locate, screen and qualify tenants
Personally show vacancies
Prepare units for occupancy
Collect rents & bill tenants monthly for unpaid charges
Pay bills & budget expenses
Schedule and inspect requested maintenance
Handle tenant disputes and complaints
Be available with 24 hour answering and paging service for emergencies
Inspect units
Coordinate evictions when necessary
OUR STAFF
Our firm is comprised of a Property Manager, who sees to the overall operation of the business and its activities, and is primarily responsible for interfacing with owners in regard to maintenance, approvals, inspections, tenant relations, and legislative changes. Our internal staff collects rents, pays bills, schedules notice deliveries and finalizes the month-end closing and is personally supervised by the Property Manager as required by law. Our Property Services Director, whose primary function is to create work orders when applicable, assigns work orders to varied subcontractors and handymen, obtains bids, and tracks the work order to completion. The handling of all advertising, applications, running of credit reports, and showing of vacancies is handled locally in our office.
Since we are dedicated to serving the residential rental market, each person in the organization is involved with each property and has the expertise to obtain and provide information upon request by individual owners. As you are aware, with an office that handles both real estate sales and real estate management, a situation could arise that could lead to diminished income to the property owner if the market is being examined with an eye toward real estate sales and the client entering the door is being summed up as a buyer of real estate rather than a renter. Our only concern is obtaining fair market rental value for our owners and not surveying the market for sales potential. The ability of our staff to individually be able to provide detailed information to our owners, maximize their income and minimize the expenses associated with renting real estate sets us apart from many other firms. Your investment is our investment and we handle it that way!
SERVICES
Tenant Selection
Tenant selection is the most important aspect of successful Property Management!!! Most mistakes can be corrected, but the wrong tenant won’t only cost you lots of money, but also endless frustration.
Our selection process is as thorough and complete as the law allows. It starts with a complete credit report on each applicant at no cost to you. We then verify employment and/or source and stability of income. We talk personally to their current and past landlords, either the owners or property managers. We go one step further and verify (through county records) that their “landlord” reference given is really the owner of the property listed on their application. This is just one of the ways we alleviate fraud in the application process. When possible we make an attempt to view the tenants’ current residence. Our years of experience enable us to better detect fraudulent applicants.
All information regarding the applicant is thoroughly evaluated by the property manager, which has final authority to accept or reject applications, unless the owner has also requested to review the information. If we receive an application that does not thoroughly meet our overall criteria, we may contact you to discuss the final approval or require a higher deposit.
After the applicant has qualified, we collect a security deposit and a full months rent, conduct a detailed move-in inspection and have the tenant sign a complete legal rental contract that details tenant and landlord responsibilities. In addition to the standard items found in most rental agreements, TMS addresses in detail such things as late rents, repairs, landscape maintenance, carpet cleaning, painting, insurance, and so forth.
Our rental agreements include attachments, which cover any items mandated by State law and local City ordinances, which include but are not limited to Lead Based Paint disclosures.
Bookkeeping and Record Keeping
We use the best program that we have been able to find for our operation that adheres to State regulations.
We collect all rents and other moneys due you and pay all bills associated with the property. Owners are sent an easy to understand cash flow record and transaction summary each month, which itemizes all income and expenses, with month to date and year to date totals as well as the beginning and ending cash balance. We also enclose copies of all invoices and correspondence. There are many additional reports available (i.e., rent roll, general ledger, etc.) and should the need arise; we will furnish them upon request.
Our year-end cash flow report is normally adequate for your accountant or yourself to conclude your income tax reporting. Information provided to us by your lender is forwarded to you for interest, tax and insurance data when these items are paid in your mortgage, otherwise our report defines all of these expenses. This, of course, assumes that we are making all of the financial disbursements on the property. When we pay the taxes and insurance as separate items we budget in advance so that when they are due the funds are on hand.
Owners with a positive cash flow have excess proceeds remitted to them on the 1st of each month. Owners with a negative cash flow will send us the required amount monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending upon your wishes and circumstances.
Property Inspections
Inspections fall into five categories: Start-up, drive by, periodic, move in & move out.
Start-up: When we accept a property for management, a thorough inspection is conducted of the interior and exterior, whether occupied or vacant. A written report is maintained in the property file describing the property condition, personal property included (with full descriptions), amenities, number and type of rooms, etc. This report lists any items that should be done to provide safety and habitability as well as any suggested improvements to enhance the rental value and preserve the integrity of the property.
Drive by: A drive by inspection is made on each property on a routine basis, usually every ninety, to one hundred twenty days. This may alert us to any developing problem based on such things as trash accumulation, neglected landscaping, unauthorized vehicles or pets, etc. Any of these findings could trigger a complete interior inspection.
Periodic: Complete Interior and exterior inspections are made annually on all properties. Cursory inspections are done any time we handle a tenant maintenance request. We ask maintenance workers to let us know if they noticed any other problems.
Move in: At the time the lease/rental agreement is signed at the unit the tenant also signs an inspection form that stipulates that the unit is in excellent condition. The only items noted are those items that are not in excellent condition. These are listed as “For Information Only” so that the tenant is not charged for those defects at the time they move. Pictures are taken at the time of the move-in.
Move out: A move-out inspection is performed after the tenant vacates. A report as well as pictures of needed repairs, cleaning and items to put the property in rent condition are listed with associated costs. Our original move in report is compared with the move out condition. Adjustments for wear and tear are determined and the security deposit return is calculated accordingly.
Maintenance and Repairs
Our staff processes all maintenance and emergency requests. After hour’s calls are answered personally by staff members.
Upon notification of a needed repair from the tenant or an inspection we generate a work order. Not all repairs are the owner's responsibility, but a work order is generated for historical tracking. If the repair is a habitability issue and the tenant caused the damage, they are sent a bill for reimbursement or the cost is deducted from their deposit. Depending on the structure of our agreement with the owner, we will either assign the job immediately to a repairperson or obtain authorization if we believe the work will exceed the limit given to us. Some owners, if they live locally, may want to perform the repair themselves or have us call a specific vendor, in which case we simply notify them as to what is needed and track until completion. No matter who performs the work, the repair is tracked in our files in case it is needed for verification in any tenant litigation.
We use tested firms or individuals that provide good service and workmanship at reasonable prices. The owner receives complete details including invoices for labor and material. These expenses are segregated by category on your monthly report as plumbing, electrical, painting and material etc. Our management agreement has a specified dollar limit amount for work we can perform on your behalf. When we believe the repair will exceed this limit you will be contacted for authorization. Major repairs, such as painting, fencing, landscaping, remodeling usually require a bid. We will make suggestions and obtain bids for the owner's consideration. We handle emergencies such as failed water heaters, broken water pipes, or any other items that may threaten the property immediately without owner consultation, unless of course the owner is readily available. This protects the owner's property from further damage and protects the tenant's rights. When applicable, we will file insurance claims and follow them until completion.
Overall, we keep in mind the two things that we are hired for, and that is to maintain the property in good condition and obtain the highest net return for the owner.
Management Packages
Full Service Management - We will do everything outlined in our Services section.
Tenant Leasing - We will do everything outlined in the Tenant Selection section under Services.
Service Fees
Management Fees
Our fees are based on a percentage of actual rent collected. We do not collect a fee unless we collect the rent. There is no minimum monthly fee. There is no fee while a unit is vacant. Our fee varies depending upon location, number of units and property condition.
If you obtain an acceptable tenant for your unit, there is a reduced leasing fee, and we still do all of the checking and paperwork.