Blog Post

HOW TO INTERVIEW AND CHOOSE A CHARLOTTE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY

Jul 15, 2014
Today we are talking about how to interview and choose a professional property management company. When you have rental property and you need a property manager, there’s a lot more than just price involved. Your property is a huge investment, and you want to make sure it’s being managed by a professional with your interests in mind.

The most important thing to look for is licensing and credentials. Whichever property management company you choose, make sure that company is a licensed real estate company. That license means the business is governed by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. It assures you that the company will follow the letter of the law, and you’ll find the property managers there are a lot more professional than what you might find at an unlicensed company.

A good property management company will also have access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). When you list a home for sale, it goes on the MLS so other agents can see it and show your property to clients. We do the same thing with the properties we have for rent. We list them on the MLS and other agents and property managers can show potential renters your home. We get about 70 percent of our leases from the MLS alone. It’s a big point of exposure and that’s why it’s important your property management company has access to it.

Always deal with a property management company that’s fully insured. Your property manager should have worker’s compensation insurance, Errors & Omissions coverage and general liability insurance. Don’t make the mistake of working with a company that is not fully covered, because it puts you at risk. If your property manager messes something up and a tenant sues them, you will be included in the lawsuit because you are the property owner. You want that insurance in place so you’re protected.

Finally, use a property management company that makes it very easy for tenants to pay rent. It should also be easy for the company to pay you. At Charlotte Homes and Rentals, we take cash, check, ACH deposits and credit card from tenants. We make it simple to pay rent and we offer several options. In return, we make paying our owners simple. We pay by check or direct deposit every month. With that payment, we provide a ledger statement too. Make sure you get a statement every month.

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09 Jul, 2017
Our topic today deals with a question I get asked all the time. The one thing investors are always asking is: Where should I buy? There is not necessarily a single answer to that question. A good property manager can show you different areas that are up and coming in the rental market, but more important is your overall investment strategy. We focus on the big picture. Think about your retirement plans. When you invest for retirement, you diversify your funds. You don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. We approach your real estate investments with the same mindset. At Charlotte Homes and Rentals, where you buy your properties depends on what you want to do and how much you want to invest. We take a look at your whole portfolio before we begin making recommendations or showing you promising investments. We start by finding out how much property you currently own and how much you want to own. Then, we help to leverage your risk. For many of our investors, it’s not a good idea to buy only single family homes that you’ll turn into rentals. If you want to buy just one property, a single family home in south Charlotte might be the right answer. But if you want to diversify, you might want to add to that single family property and buy some multi-family units or condominiums that can be found all over the city. We advise you to spread it out and we show you how to maximize your investments. To help you buy the right properties, we take a look at what you want to achieve. We consider whether you want only short term returns or long term returns as well. We’ll ask you if you plan to hold onto your property indefinitely or if you will likely want to sell it in the next five to 10 years. All of that is taken into consideration when we sit down with you to plan out your real estate investments and determine how your properties will fit into your overall investment strategy. We’ll do this with you regardless of the amount of money you plan to invest and regardless of the types of plans you have for these properties. When you want to invest in residential property, please contact us at Charlotte Homes and Rentals. We look forward to helping you.
07 Jul, 2017
Today we are going to talk about why you should work with us, and we are going to give you five reasons to let Charlotte Homes and Rentals help you with your property. The first thing we want to tell you is that we are truly one stop shopping. We perform property management, we have expertise in real estate and we are also licensed general contractors. So, anything you need to do with your investment property, we can help you. We can help clients buy investment property, we can help you repair it, we can manage it for you while you’re renting it out, and when you’re ready to sell it, we can get it on the sales market for you. Second, we only work for property owners. Everything we do is centered on protecting the owners and their properties. Our leases are designed to focus on protecting our owners. We are going to treat your property as if it was our own. The third reason you should work with Charlotte Homes and Rentals is that our tenant screening is thorough and precise. We do a nationwide criminal background check, we run credit scores and credit reports, we check the sex offender list and we also look at nationwide eviction records. Because we are only working for owners, we have an interest in finding you the best tenants we can. Another good reason to work with us is that we have a full time maintenance staff. Again, we are licensed general contractors, so we know how to handle maintenance and repairs. We can also find you the best prices for your repairs. You can be sure the work is going to be done right and for an affordable price. We only work with vendors who are fully licensed and insured because our goal is to protect you and your property. Finally, our company can provide you with modern technology and old fashioned service. We have all the latest technology and we make it available to our clients. We advertise on the necessary websites and we keep all of our systems and processes up to date. This helps us do everything we need to do efficiently. At the same time, we are never more than a phone call away. Our 5 Reasons to Work with Charlotte Homes and Rentalsold fashioned service means you can reach us anytime you want in any way you want. We are willing to communicate in whatever way works best for you. If you have any questions about property management and why you should work with us, please contact us at Charlotte Homes and Rentals.
02 Sep, 2014
There are a lot of international and overseas investors buying property in the Charlotte market, and they come to a property management company with special needs since they are so far away. We work with a lot of overseas funds and we have good relationships with our investors. We thought we would take some time on today’s blog to explain the process so you know how we have done it at Charlotte Homes and Rentals. We have managed to be very successful with our international investors and those clients who are out of the country have been happy with our work. Being a licensed real estate company is important to these investors, because we can help people from overseas source the properties. We listen to what they are looking for and then we help them find what they want. Most international investors have specific criteria and need properties that will best fit their overall investment portfolios. In addition to helping them find and purchase properties, we are also able to help them fix those properties up. Most of the homes they buy are in various states of construction or repair, and since we are licensed contractors, we can do any work our investors need. We can do something as simple as a paint job or carpet installation, and we can do major rehab work and complete renovations. International investors are happy to work with a company that can do the buying, the managing and the fixing up. Once we’ve helped investors choose a property and get it fixed up, we prepare the home for rent. This requires cleaning, Property Managers Handles Financemarketing and preparing the home for the rental market. When the investor is thousands of miles away, a property manager really needs to be on point. You need to have feet on the ground and you need to give that property a lot of personal attention. Get it on the market, make sure it’s priced correctly and find the best possible tenant. We protect the investments of our overseas clients the same way we protect the homes belonging to our local landlords. International investors can expect detailed accounting from us on a regular basis. We provide spreadsheets and statements with narrative descriptions. We manage a lot of large portfolios and sometimes that requires us to Skype with overseas investors so they are up to speed on everything that’s happening with their properties. We’d be happy to partner with you if you’re an international or overseas investor interested in the Charlotte market. If you have any questions about the services we provide, please contact us at Charlotte Homes and Rentals.
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