Landlord Frequently Asked Questions
This page provides help with some of the most frequently asked questions about working with Ramona Property Managers, Inc.
Why Use A Property Management Company?
There are several reasons why investors should choose to hire a quality company like Ramona Property Managers rather than go it alone. The most common reasons include:
- We handle all repair issues 24/7, saving you time, money and stress.
- We have local market knowledge and therefore rent our homes quickly (under 2 weeks on average) and for more money
- We reduce your liabilities by correctly applying, all the relevant and ever changing Federal, State, County, and City landlord tenant laws and regulations.
- We make tax time easy by providing you with detailed monthly and yearly statements tracking all expenses and deductions.
- We treat your property like a business, enforcing collection of rent, properly serving notices, and acting quickly on lease violations.
In the end, it’s a lot of work to do it correctly. After owners consider the time, effort, increased liability and inconvenience factor, they are happy to have us take it off their plate.
Why Ramona Property Managers?
Ramona Property Managers has been in the same location since 1960. Over that time, we have managed just about every conceivable type of property and portfolio legally available. Our clients have included family trusts, corporate trusts, City housing agencies, non-profit organizations, retirees, new investors, veteran investors, accidental landlords, multi-generational landlords…and the list goes on.
We have served on the board of the El Monte/South El Monte Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown El Monte Business Alliance, the American Red Cross Emergency Preparedness Committee, the Rio Hondo Community Development Corporation (a 501c3 organization providing low income housing throughout the Greater San Gabriel Valley), the El Monte Community Coordinating Council, and the Editorial Board of The Mid Valley News,
Ramona Property Managers has active memberships in the National Association of Realtors, The California Association of Realtors, the Citrus Valley Association of Realtors, The National Association of Residential Property Managers, the Institute of Real Estate Management and the Multi-Regional Multiple Listing Service.
Stay away from companies with part time managers, or agents who just do management in-between real estate transactions. Do you really want to trust one of your greatest assets to someone who is not a professional?
How do you market my rental property?
Once we have a signed management agreement, Ramona Property Managers immediately starts getting the marketing package together. When and were possible, an eye-catching sign is placed on the property for those driving or walking through the neighborhood. The property is added to the available properties section of our website, and submitted to over 25 other online sites. In addition, we a significant amount of phone traffic every day from prospective tenants.
What needs to be done to prepare a property for the market and a tenant?
The property should be in the best condition possible. This will help ensure the property rents for the most money possible, a quality tenant is found quickly and your days on market are low. The property should be very clean and all the carpets should be professionally shampooed. Paint should be in good condition with dirty and scuffed areas touched up. We recommend that bright colors be repainted to neutral tones. All personal items should be removed from the property. Everything in the home should be functioning properly and the outside yard should be in good shape.
How is the rental price determined?
Setting a rent rate is like a micro-appraisal of your home or apartment. In order to determine the fair market value of a rental, we need to research the cost, condition, and location of other rentals in the area.
Once we have comparable rentals, we sit down with a pad of paper, a pencil, and a calculator to figure out the mean, median, and average. Then – like an appraisal – we start comparing apples to apples and figuring out how an orange impacts the value of a barrel of apples.
We are professionals and we’ll be able to determine the right price for the property fairly quickly.
Should I accept pets or smokers in my rental property?
This will depend on your individual comfort level. RPM recommends that you consider accepting tenants with pets. Statistics show that around 75% of tenants own a pet and therefore by not allowing them you are at disadvantage for finding a tenant quickly. We do not allow dangerous breeds and each pet should be properly licensed. We typically would increase the security deposit accordingly to ensure that there are enough funds to repair any potential damage.
Please Be Advised: Service Animals are not pets and there are very special laws on the difference between service animals and pets in the State of California.
We recommend not allowing any indoor smoking. All RPM properties are smoke-free
Can I choose which tenants rent my home?
No. By choosing which tenants rent a home, landlords are immediately telling tenants the management company has no authority and questionable judgement.
In addition, fair housing laws and regulations are very strict and prohibit any discrimination of tenants who are members of a protected class. The laws are complex and there are many variations from city to city.
Ramona Property Managers ensures all our owners are in compliance with these laws while still making sure each tenant is extremely well screened.
How long does it take to rent a property?
We understand that vacancy is one of the biggest expenses for a landlord and we work diligently to rent our properties as soon as possible and we have the horsepower to find tenants quickly. Price and market conditions will also drive vacancy periods.
Our goal is to have every property rented within one month from when we started marketing. Currently, we average less than 14 days to fill a vacancy once marketing begins.
How are repairs handled?
The State of California is very specific as to how repairs are handled and we make sure our owners are in compliance. We have a full-time, dedicated maintenance coordination team, who is responsible for troubleshooting and coordinating all maintenance requests from our tenants.
Tenants document their maintenance requests in writing through our online portal. It is our policy to gain owner approval for all repairs that are over the “Authorized Repair Limit”.
Any repairs made will either be charged to the tenant or deducted from the owner funds on account and will be reflected on the next month’s owner’s statement.
To minimize our client’s liability we require all our vendors are Ramona Property Managers preferred vendors and do not allow landlords to perform their own maintenance or provide their own vendors. Ramona Property Managers receives preferred pricing from our vendors and pass those savings along to our owners.
What does Ramona Property Managers need to start managing my property?
It all starts by putting together an effective management plan. For more information on how Ramona Property Managers can help you reach your investment goals and objectives, call us at 626-448-7882.
