Tenant Screening And Placement

Gateway Property Management has licensed property managers that are experienced in tenant placement.  The following is a brief outline of how our services will locate, qualify, and place quality tenants into your rental property with no inconvenience to you.

 Locating Prospective Tenants

The key to quickly locating prospective tenants is maximizing exposure of available properties to potential renters.  We accomplish the following:

• Advertising: Available properties are advertised in local and city-wide newspapers reaching renters every week.
  
• Available properties list: Updated and distributed weekly, to our Realtors, these lists have detailed descriptions and addresses of all available properties managed by Gateway Property Management.
  
• Rental Signs: With your permission, a full sized “For Rent” sign, like those used to market properties for sale, will be posted at the property.  These signs are responsible for dozens of property inquiries every week.  Most often the callers rent the homes offered by Gateway Property Management.
  
• Reputation and Referrals: Being the largest property management company in our marketplace, and one of the oldest, we have earned a reputation for excellent service and results in tenant placement.  We get many referrals from satisfied tenants.  Often our existing tenants use us to locate another property when the one they are in no longer suits their needs.

All of the above combines services generate as many inquiries per day as we have available properties per month!  Because we maintain ongoing contact with all of our potential tenants, filling our vacancy could be as easy as a telephone call to someone who is looking for a property like yours.

Our professionals will coordinate all of the appointments for showing your property.
 

 Tenant Screening

Because of the importance of finding quality tenants, we do tenant screening on all applications received.  The following steps are taken to investigate the reliability of any prospective tenant.

• Credit Reports: Independent licensed credit reporting agencies are used on each application.
  
• Verify Credit History: A credit report is obtained from a national credit bureau on every adult that is applying to occupy the property.  This report gives us payment history from creditors and any judgments or court actions filed against the applicant.
  
• Verify Employment and Income: Contacting employers to verify stable employment history and sufficient income to ensure timely rental payments.
  
• Interview Current and Past Landlords: Investigating any applicants’ past payment history, property condition, and general references from past landlords.
  
• Eviction and Criminal Reports: This information is included in all credit report inquiries.  When notices of evictions or criminal reports are made, further investigating is completed, giving us a detailed report as to the circumstances involved in each instance.

After collecting all of the data on the prospective tenant, we then consult with you, the property owner, prior to approving them to rent.  This allows you some input into the decision and complies with tax codes that state that you must have “an active role in the selection of new tenants” to continue to write off the maximum amount allowed by law.

Once a tenant is approved, Gateway Property Management will:

• Collect all deposits.
  
• Prepare and execute proper and legal agreements.
  
• Conduct a written inspection report of the property with the tenant on the day of possession.
  
• Coordinate the moving in of the tenant.  Distribute keys, convert any necessary utilities.

• Conduct a move out inspection of the property.
  
• Conduct a written inspection report of the property with the tenant,
   
• Coordinate the re-keying of the locks (state law) and any cleaning or maintenance needed.
  
• Evaluate and disburse any deposit refunds that may be due tenants or owners.
  
• Most importantly – fill your vacancy with another quality tenant!

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES

• Rent collected:
  
  All rents, deposits, and late fees are collected and all excess funds are disbursed to the owner or deposited directly into the owners bank account.
  
• Disburse rental income:
  
  Mail check to you
  
  Deposit electronically into a checking or savings account
  
• Accounts payable services:
  
  We offer several accounts payable options as part of our complete management services.  We can pay for you, all of the following:
  
  Mortgage payments
  
  Property taxes
  
  Property insurance
  
  Owner paid utility bills
  
  All maintenance expenses
  
  Any other bills as requested by the owner
  
• Full accounting statements:
  
  We provide all property owners with the following information:
  
  Monthly income and expense statements
  
  Year-to-date income and expense statements
  
  Form 1099 and detailed year-end statements for tax preparation
  
  

   

   

MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT AND THE PHYSICAL CARE  OF YOUR PROPERTY

• Respond to maintenance requests and emergencies promptly. 
  
  State law requires that landlords respond to maintenance requests from tenants within a specific time period, as soon as 24 hours in some cases.  We guarantee to address any and all maintenance problems well within the legal time lines.  We also have an after-hours maintenance telephone number should the situation require immediate attention.  Your property is never without management!

• Guarantee quality work at competitive prices:
  
  We work with many contractors and vendors, all of whom are licensed and bonded, to handle any maintenance situation that should arise.  Most of these contractors bill us on a wholesale basis.

• Schedule and coordinate repairs:
  
  With your approval, we schedule the repairs with the vendors and the tenants to ensure that the work is done in a timely efficient and workmanlike manner.

• Recommend scheduled and preventive maintenance:
  
  In addition to a complete inspection and condition report before a tenant takes possession, we perform periodic inspections of the property and regular drive-by inspections to verify that the property is being kept in good condition.  During these inspections we look for any problem areas that should be addressed to prevent more serious and costly repairs in the future.  Our contractors are also instructed to report any potential problems whenever they visit the property.