atlanta property management Archives -

Renters get victimized by scammers who offer low rates on houses they don’t own

October 23, 2012 by Thom Abbott

See on Scoop.it – Midtown Atlanta Conversations and Condos

Now the second largest source of mortgage money in the country — Freddie Mac — is warning about a troubling new wave of post-crash fraud: scammers who illegally rent out its foreclosed and for-sale homes to unsuspecting consumers shopping for houses to lease. The bogus landlords don’t own the properties — Freddie does — and they have no right to offer them to anyone. But they use Craigslist and other online sites to advertise them to prospective tenants.

Typically the rents are tantalizing — say, $1,200 a month for a three-bedroom home in a neighborhood where similar houses command double that — and the terms are straightforward: Pay us a one-month security deposit and one or two months’ rent upfront — always in cash or money order — and we give you the keys, no questions asked. The fraud promoters sometimes change the locks on the front door, remove the lockbox installed by the realty broker marketing the house for Freddie Mac and tell prospects: Oh, and don’t worry about that real estate sign in the front yard offering the house for sale. We tried to sell the house but it didn’t work out, so now we’re renting it.

See on www.washingtonpost.com

How Involved Is The Landlord In The Atlanta Home or Condo Rental Process?

March 31, 2012 by Thom Abbott

When a landlord/property owner contacts us about renting their Atlanta home or condominium, there is often a concern as to how involved the landlord is in the rental process. Once you have your Atlanta home or Condominium ready to rent, here are the next steps:

Sign the Exclusive Lease Listing Agreement with us
Provide us with keys and access fobs/cards (if needed)

That’s it! We then go to work marketing the home, handle all the showings, the application and tenant screening process and negotiate the terms of the lease on your behalf. Once the lease is ready, you sign it.

After your tenant is in place, you decide your next level of involvement. It may be our Self Management Program or our Full Management Program. We are happy to discuss the benefits to you of either of these programs.

How Long Does It Take To Find a Tenant For My Atlanta Home or Condo For Rent?

March 29, 2012 by Thom Abbott

When we work with our landlord clients, one of the first questions we are often asked is, “How Long Does It Take To Find A Tenant?” That question actually has several answers.

First and foremost, it is the goal of Thomas Ramon Realty to find you a desirable tenant as quickly as possible. Note, we said desirable. We’ll cover our screening process in another post.

The Atlanta rental home market moves quickly these days! But the location of your home, the neighborhood, surrounding areas, accessibility to shopping or major highways all can have an impact on now quickly we may find you a tenant. We cannot give you an iron-clad guarantee, but most homes and condominiums will rent in 30 days or less. We will discuss much of this with you when we complete your Home Evaluation. You may also want to read, How Do I Rent My Atlanta Home Or Condo?

How Long Does It Take To Find A Tenant? If you have an Atlanta Home or Condominium you need to rent, contact us today to learn more about our unique marketing and management program that is designed to get your property rented and save you money at the same time.

How Do I Rent My Atlanta Home (Part 2)

March 28, 2012 by Thom Abbott

In my last post about How Do I Rent My Atlanta Home, we talked about what you need to do on the inside of your home to make it sparkle and shine to a prospective tenant. But first impressions go a long way in both buying and renting your home. And that first impression starts on the outside of your home. You’ve probably heard the saying….”curb appeal.”

So, exactly what is “curb appeal” and what do I have to do to Rent My Atlanta Home?

The Lawn — It needs to be mowed, driveway and curbs edged, and the landscape beds looking clean. This is all certainly “do-it-yourself” kinds of things, but if you have already moved, we can help you find a landscape company that will get this ready. You might even want to consider pricing your home rental to INCLUDE lawn maintenace. This can be one of your bigger challenges managing your rental or investment property….how the exterior is maintained.
Shrubbery and/or Trees — At least make sure for your initial rental advertising period, that you have the shurbbery trimmed and neat. Again, that first impression goes along way to not only getting the rental rate you desire, but getting your home rented faster because it looks great from the outside!
Roofing and Siding — We are certainly NOT suggesting you have a new roof installed! But, you might want to check in your attic (if you have one) and make sure there are no obvious signs of a problem. A tenant is much more likely to let such a problem go on for a long time before they report it, and water does all kinds of damage! As for the siding, you just want to make sure things are in place, any caulking needed, etc. Remember, your Atlanta Home For Rent is going to be occupied by a tenant, and a tenant is not inclined to walk around the house looking for issues like you would.
Driveway — ONLY if you have numerous stains, would we suggest a pressure wash. Otherwise, it should be fine.

GREAT! Now that you have your Atlanta Home ready To Rent, give us a call. We will make an appointment to give you a free evaluation of the market, review our unique marketing plans, tenant placement services and our cost saving way to manage your property for LESS money!

Complete our Landlord Evaluation Form and we will be in contact with you as soon as possible!

For More Information on how we can best serve your InTown Atlanta Real Estate needs, please fill out the online contact form or call us at 770.713.1505.

We specialize in InTown Atlanta Real Estate single family homes and condomiums. If you are planning to Buy InTown Atlanta real estate, let us help you explore all the possibilities available to you and help you find just the right home you will LOVE!

Please use the following links to Search for Homes by Intown Atlanta Neighborhoods or Zip codes!

Brookhaven/Ashford Park 30319	Buckhead 30305
Buckhead 30327	Buckhead 30342
Chamblee 30341	Decatur 30307
Doraville 30340	Downtown Atlanta 30303
Druid Hills 30329	Dunwoody 30338
East Atlanta/Ormewood Park 30316	East Lake/Kirkwood 30317
Grant Park 30312	Midtown Atlanta 30308
Midtown Atlanta 30309	Midtown West/Collier Hills 30318
Morningside 30306	Morningside 30324

Are you looking for a specific Intown Atlanta neighborhood to focus on? Contact Thomas Ramon Realty and we can set up a search for any specific neighborhood you are looking for!

How Do I Rent My Atlanta Home?

March 27, 2012 by Thom Abbott

There can be any number of reasons that you need to rent your Atlanta home. Whether it’s a job transfer, inability to sell your home for the price you need, or maybe you have taken advantage of the market and purchased an investment property. Whatever the reason, now you are asking, How Do I Rent My Atlanta Home?

A rental home is not much different than a home that is For Sale. Priced right, in good condtion and the right location, and you can have a tenant in place quickly. But there are several steps you need to take first.

Preparing Your Atlanta Home For Rent

If this is a home you have moved out of and are now renting, we first need to get “her in shape!” What exactly does that mean?

Spit clean and spotless — nothing will send a prospective tenant running faster than dirty carpet, bathrooms, windows, you name it…it needs to be clean!!! Whether you do it yourself, or hire a professional cleaning service, clean is mean when it comes to getting TOP DOLLAR for your Atlanta Rental Home!
Paint — A fresh coat of paint will go the farthest in making your home shine. It will make your home sell fresh and new, and may keep a prospective tenant in your home longer. The longer they look, the more likely they will rent. Always, always keep it neutral when you paint. You might leave a children’s room a special color, but the potential tenant may want it for a home office…so best to make it neutral. Painting can probably be done quicker or easier by a professional depending on how quickly you need it done, or how much time you have to do it yourself.
Mechanical/Systems/Appliances — Simply said, they all need to work, and work right. If a burner on the stove does not work, fix it. These little things will add up to less of a chance to lease your home, or later in a lease, a tenant may become frustrated that things don’t work and it could cause “problems.” Let’s not risk that…let’s just have it all working.

In our next post, we’ll talk about the exterior of the home and what needs to be done there. How about a hint? When you Rent Your Atlanta Home, you may only get one chance to make a good first impression.
Read more: https://atlantagahomesforrent.com/how-do-i-rent-my-atlanta-home#ixzz1qJl95Ola

For More Information on how we can best serve your InTown Atlanta Real Estate needs, please fill out the online contact form or call us at 770.713.1505.

Please use the following links to Search for Homes by Intown Atlanta Neighborhoods or Zip codes!

Brookhaven/Ashford Park 30319	Buckhead 30305
Buckhead 30327	Buckhead 30342
Chamblee 30341	Decatur 30307
Doraville 30340	Downtown Atlanta 30303
Druid Hills 30329	Dunwoody 30338
East Atlanta/Ormewood Park 30316	East Lake/Kirkwood 30317
Grant Park 30312	Midtown Atlanta 30308
Midtown Atlanta 30309	Midtown West/Collier Hills 30318
Morningside 30306	Morningside 30324

Are you looking for a specific Intown Atlanta neighborhood to focus on? Contact Thomas Ramon Realty and we can set up a search for any specific neighborhood you are looking for!

Broker Rental Referral Fees. What Difference Do They Make?

November 20, 2011 by Thom Abbott

So you’ve decided to rent your Atlanta home or condominium? What Difference does the Broker Rental Referral Fee Make in renting my home? Do you remember the line from Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when she walks back into the store on Rodeo Drive where the clerk would not help her? “Excuse me, do you work on commissions? Big Mistake! HUGE mistake!” Well the same rule kind of applies when you (or your real estate agent) decides on what they will offer a co-op broker for a rental referral fee. What? Let me explain it from the side of the listing agent and then the side from the co-op broker. You might think it the same as when you purchase real estate, but such is not the case.

The Listing Agent and the Landlord

While every real estate agent may operate differently, most will charge you a one month fee, equal to the monthly rent. From there, they will offer to the real estate agent a portion of that amount, known as the Broker Rental Fee or co-op fee. This can range from 10% up to as much at 50%. What does this matter to you as the Landlord? In a nutshell, how quickly your home or condo will get rented….or not.

Believe it or not, real estate agents prefer NOT to work for free. And while your real estate agent should show you every rental listing that meets your requirements, it does come down to money. Plain and simple. Let’s look at an example.

Monthly Rental Rate: $1500 (You pay your real estate agent this fee (one month) to find you a tenant and/or manage the property for you. We will talk about property management later) From this fee, they offer the co-op Broker 10%. That’s $150. That’s $150 for driving them around, perhaps showing 5, 10 or more listings before the prospective tenant makes a decision. Not a great wage.

So look at the difference if YOUR agent offers a higher co-op fee:

15% = $225
20% = $300
30% = $450

Can you see how a real estate agent might be more inclined to show YOUR listing if it had a higher co-op fee associated with it? Did it cost YOU more money for that higher co-op fee? That depends. Did your listing agent ask you to pay more than one month? Did your listing sit on the market, vacant for more than 1 month? Then it may have just cost you another month’s mortgage payment.

The Broker Co-op Fee and the Renter

So, you’ve seen how the co-op fee might affect how quickly your Atlanta home or condominium gets rented. Now, look at it from the agent’s view that is working with the tenant. Should I show a rental listing that is paying me $150 referral fee or a the one that is paying me $450? I didn’t do very well in economics, but I can probably guess which rental listing will get more traffic which will equal a faster lease.

If you are getting ready to lease your property, ask your Listing Agent what he/she will be offering as a co-cop fee. Broker Rental Referral Fees. What Difference Do They Make?

Preparing Your Atlanta Home For Rent

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