Owners Frequently Asked Questions
Below you will find answers to common questions regarding the Property Management and Leasing Service available to you. We recommend asking these same questions of any Property Management company you are considering.
Many of the cities in the Bay Area (and California as a whole effective January 1, 2020) have implemented Rent Control and/or Just Cause Eviction laws which can be very difficult to understand and adhere to. Hiring a professional property management company familiar with these laws and abreast of all the changes will ensure you are not subject to legal action from not complying with these laws. As an individual Landlord, it would be hard for you to remain aware of all the laws and nuances of managing tenants and handling repairs.
Utilizing the services of a Professional Property Management Company in the Bay Area relieves you from the burden of unexpected and untimely tenant and repair issues. It also provides you with a tested and true vendor team (via your property manager) to handle repair and maintenance issues at your rented home. Having a Professional Property Management Company handling the details of managing your rental home allows you to focus your time and talents on other matters in your life instead of worrying about your rental property. We handle it all for you turnkey.
We believe that you hire a property manager to manage your rental home, not to assist you in managing it yourself. We offer a full service and turnkey style of property management service which is most appreciated by those property owners who prefer to be “out of the loop” on all but the most important matters related to the management and leasing of the property.
Seville Property Management formerly known as Seville Real Estate & Management was formed in 1986 by Ernest Clark, Jr. His daughter, Maya Clark, has been managing, leasing, selling and owning rental properties since 1998.
We are a small Broker-Owner operated company, managing about 60-80 single family homes. In selecting a property management company in the Bay Area, you will find companies of various sizes, some manage 100s, even 1,000s of homes with large staff. We remain intentionally small and local, and believe you receive better service as a result.
The advantage to a smaller independent company, such as ours, is that you have a single contact person who always knows everything regarding your property, tenants, accounting, repairs, etc. You’ll never get transferred from person to person, or department to department. You simply call Maya.
The property management industry is starting to undergo consolidation. Large national real estate franchises are buying smaller companies and expanding into as many markets as possible. Many of these larger companies don’t even have local leasing staff. Instead they allow tenants into your home unescorted with a lockbox code. With SPM, you have Bay Area natives who have been buying, selling, leasing and managing homes in the Bay Area ourselves for over 40 years.
NARPM – National Association of Residential Property Managers
CAA – California Apartment Association
EBRHA – Bay Area Rental Housing Association
OBAR – Oakland Berkeley Association of Realtors
Yes, Maya is a licensed Broker and Owner of the parent company as well. All our sales and leasing activities are handled by licensed Brokers and Salespersons with Seville Real Estate & Mgmt., Inc. Our website is www.homesbyseville.com.
Many who contact us about property management are trying to decide between keeping the home as a rental or selling. We can walk you through all the factors to consider and the pros and cons of each.
Yes, many of the homes we manage were purchased through us by investors who were shopping a property manager to line up before buying. You can learn more about our investment sales service by contacting us. In addition to the roughly 60-80 homes we manage, we help buyers and sellers with about 30 sales transactions per year.
We believe that you hire a property manager to manage your rental home, not to assist you in managing it yourself. We offer a full service and turnkey style of property management service which is most appreciated by those property owners who prefer to be “out of the loop” on all but the most important matters related to the management and leasing of the property.
We don’t pester you with small details, questions, information or “updates” about your property or tenants, except for those matters which will have a significant impact on your monthly cash flow. Instead, we simply take care of the things you have entrusted us to handle on your behalf. Our fee includes everything we do. We don’t nickel and dime you with extras or try to “upsell” you to a “better” level of service. Every client gets our very best.
For some property owners, our system is not a good match, and we understand that. We are very up front about the fact that we don’t want you to hire us if you expect to be involved in minor details or decisions related to the management and leasing of your property.
We simply haven’t designed our systems and procedures to accommodate that level of involvement by owners. We can instead refer you to another property manager who accommodates the level of involvement you desire.
The general rule of thumb is this; if something has happened, or is about to happen, that will disrupt your ordinary monthly cash proceeds by more than $500, we will let you know about it.
An example would be that we receive a 30-day notice from your tenant, and therefore expect a turnover, along with related expenses. We want you to be informed and prepared for it.
Another example would be that your heating system has failed during the middle of an unusually cold winter; we’ve determined that the unit needs replacing and have initiated the work to replace it. We’ll call to let you know what has happened and the expected financial impact on the following month’s statement. But we don’t seek approval or require your involvement real-time in the decision.
Finally, for new owners that seem a bit nervous, we do tend to accommodate a “break in period” whereby we will in fact keep you a bit more informed than usual during the initial lease-up and make-ready maintenance process.
We do want you to be comfortable working with us going forward, so the start-up process may involve more communication, if you so desire, than is outlined above. You will settle in and become comfortable with us very quickly though, and after the initial period of getting started, we’ll revert to our normal routine and level of communication.
We manage residential and small multi-family properties (14 units or less) that are in good to excellent condition. Safe, well maintained properties, in safe neighborhoods, that attract good, quality renters.
If you own a larger multi-family (or a property that is rundown that you do not wish to improve), we’re happy to help you find another good property manager in the area who handles that type of property. Feel free to call and ask for a referral.
We focus on Alameda County and West Contra Costa County primarily. In December 2019, we have added Stockton to our service area after carefully vetting an experienced handyman, licensed contractor, and hiring a Full-Time Property Manager who lives and works in Stockton.
Exceptions can be made if you own multiple investment properties, including some that are inside our desired area and some that are not. Call us to discuss whether we can handle your group of properties. We do sometimes make exceptions for the right properties and owners.
We generally just know the rent value based on location, size and condition. But each time your home comes up for rent, we conduct a market analysis to determine how much homes like yours have been renting for recently.
Once we determine a starting value, we add or subtract based on the time of year, competition from other available rental near yours, the condition of the property (older vs. newer carpet, age of appliances, floor plan, etc.), and other relevant market factors.
Generally, we believe it’s a good idea to price your rental property at or slightly below market value and get it rented quickly. Vacancy is your worst enemy and we work hard to prevent excess vacancy loss. Sometimes owners get hung up on trying to squeeze out a little bit of extra rent, but we will council you against being overly optimistic at risk of extended vacancy loss.
We have found in the SF Bay Area that rental properties that allow pets are more in demand and desirable. We do, however, limit the number of pets to two and prohibit certain aggressive breeds of dogs such as Pit Bulls and Rottweilers, as does your insurance provider.
If you instruct us to market the home as a No Pets property, we will follow your instruction, and will not allow pets at all. Be aware, not accepting pets eliminates a lot of prospective renters, so the more restrictive the pet policy, the greater likelihood of a longer vacancy at lease-up.
No. Every lease for every home we manage includes a “no smoking” provision.
We require prospective tenants to provide at least two years of good verifiable rental history (or proof of home ownership), good credit, and verifiable income at least 2.5 times the monthly rent. That’s it in a nutshell, but a lot more goes into the screening than just those three items. You can look at the rental criteria that we publish for tenants on our website under Tenant FAQ.
Yes. We use the most recently updated California Realtor Association lease with additional Addendums specific to the city the property is located in.
We enforce the lease strictly, including pet policy, unauthorized occupants, vehicle limits, HOA Rules, lease term, and all other terms and conditions of the lease agreement. If we become aware of a lease violation, the tenant promptly receives a violation notice and is required to cure the violation to avoid further action.
All non-emergency repair requests are reported to us in writing, as required in the lease agreement. We provide tenants an online Tenant Portal which allows them to submit repair requests from any device. We strive to respond to and complete most ordinary repair requests within 1 to 3 business days.
Repairs and property condition issues offer the greatest opportunity for friction and ill will between landlords and tenants. A property manager walks the line between a tenant who wants things fixed ASAP, and an owner who is sensitive to repair expenses. We in fact want the tenant to enjoy a well-maintained home in which everything functions as designed and intended. It’s to your advantage that this happens, as a happy tenant is more likely to remain in the property at lease renewal.
This is where the rubber hits the road on the “turnkey service” philosophy that was outlined above. If something in your home is legitimately broken, worn out or in need of repair, we are going to have it fixed or replaced without consulting with or informing you, so long as it falls within the $500 repair cap established in the property management agreement.
In many instances, we will quiz the tenant about the problem and attempt to solve it over the phone. This is commonly accomplished with problems such as tripped breakers or GFI outlets (reset breaker), malfunctioning garage openers (check the eye-beams), disposals (reset button), dishwashers (wall switch), Heater (thermostat not set properly, pilot not lit), etc.
This by the way is where we as a “small company” can offer a more personal level of repair troubleshooting and diagnosis than a large property management company with an impersonal “repair pipeline” process. Essentially, before spending your money on a service call, we attempt to troubleshoot and solve the problem. Once it’s determined that a legitimate problem exists, and that a service call is needed, we send a vendor who we have probably been using for more than 10 years and whom we trust to take care of the problem.
A minimum of $550 is held in your account at all times, to be used if needed to pay for a repair after your rent proceeds have been dispersed. Multi-unit properties have higher reserve requirements.
No. We won’t use American Home Shield or any other Warranty Company on any repair issues at your home under any circumstance. We have no direct control over the vendors sent by home warranty companies, so it doesn’t work use them on rental property repairs.
Nothing affects the reputation of a Landlord or a property management company more than the way repairs are handled. Tenants judge us by almost no other measure. It therefore makes little sense to entrust vendors we don’t know, whom we have no relationship with or control over, with the reputation of our company and the relationship with your tenant.
Instead, when repairs are needed, we will send our trusted vendors with whom established relationships and excellent communication exists, and they will provide the quality service we require in a professional and timely manner.
We will pay your recurring HOA dues, lawn service and any other bill or invoice generated as a result of repairs. Also, utilities during vacancy or other services to your property except for mortgage or insurance payments. There is no additional charge for this service. The actual cost will be reflected on your owner statement with no accounting fees or upcharges.
Your monthly proceeds will be initiated for electronic deposit directly to your bank account each month by the 15th. Property statements are emailed between the 10th-12th each month.
We are not able to deposit funds any sooner than the 15th of each month. Tenants have until the 5th of the month to pay their rent before they are assessed a late fee. Once tenants rent is received, we must process the payment and deposit into our account. We also must account for any maintenance invoices that will need to be paid for services rendered the month prior.
Management fee is 6% of the monthly rent collected, with a $125 per month minimum.
Leasing commission is ½ of full month’s rent each time a new tenant is located, $1,250 minimum. Renewal Fee is a $150 flat fee each time a lease renewal is executed with an existing tenant.
No, we do not markup maintenance or repair invoices. You pay what the vendor charges. Although, we do charge a10% “Maintenance Oversight Fee” for repairs exceeding $2500.
No, there is no setup fee. The three fees outlined above are typically the only charges 95% of our owners ever see.
We will visit your home to make sure it meets our condition and location requirements. Then we will send you a management agreement and initiate the process of assuming management of your property.
If you have any questions not answered above, or wish to further discuss anything listed above, feel free to call Maya Clark at (510)244-1289 x101 or maya@sevillepropertymanagement.com.