Real Property Management Select Resident Manual

Welcome to Real Property Management

We would like to personally thank you for renting from Real Property Management Select. We are a locally owned and operated residential property management company that specializes in managing rental properties. We look forward to servicing you as your property manager during your tenancy.

Contacting our Office

There are several ways to contact our office. If you have a maintenance need, please call our maintenance line at the phone number below. This line is available 24 hours a day, seven (7) days a week. Please use this number for your maintenance needs to ensure that the proper individuals within the company can quickly process your requests.

Office Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
24 Hour Maintenance Hotline: (888) 924-8952
Office: (877) 603-9696
Fax: (877) 207-9398
Info@norcalpm.com

Renter’s Portal

Real Property Management Select uses a convenient portal in its proprietary software for our renters. Any employee of your Real Property Management Select office can give you this access. Inside the portal, you can find copies of your lease as well as your account ledger, along with several other documents pertaining to your tenancy. You are also able to make payments on-­‐line and communicate with the office.

Leases

Real Property Management Select uses a simple and easy-to-understand lease that was prepared with you in mind. Please be sure that you read it carefully to ensure that you understand everything in the document. Keep in mind that it is a binding, legal contract. If you have questions about some of the provisions, you are encouraged to have it reviewed by an attorney prior to signing it.

Terms

It is important to note the dates on your lease – when your rental begins and when it ends. Your lease ends when you have completed your contract and you have returned the keys to the Real Property Management office. There is a final inspection after you vacate to ensure that you left the premises in as good a condition as it was when your lease began and that the premises is in rent-ready condition. If you plan to vacate the property before the end of your lease, please be aware of the lease expiration date because you are responsible and will be held liable for all rents due until the end of the lease.

Pets

Your lease will specify if you are or are not allowed to have pets. If you are allowed to have pets in the unit, there may be some restrictions as to the type and size of animal. Any pets not specified in the Lease Agreement are not allowed. Any future animals need to be approved in writing BEFORE they can reside at the property. If you are authorized to have a Service Animal, however, we will accommodate you in accordance with the law.

Smoking

Your lease will have a provision stating whether or not smoking is permitted on your premises.

Guests

There is a fine line between when guests become residents. Your lease will state the maximum stay permissible by a guest. Our intent is not to restrict having visitors, but to help us keep track of the number of people who are residing in the unit. In many areas, there are limits placed on the number of occupants a unit may legally house by applicable fire, safety, and health regulations.

Adding Residents

If you wish to add a resident to your lease, please contact the Real Property Management office to discuss the situation. We must approve any additional resident(s) on the lease as well as conduct background checks. There is no exception to this policy. In addition to keeping the residents of Real Property Management safe, our company is bound by local and state regulations, as well as by federal Fair Housing Laws and mandates to maintain a safe, secure environment for our residents.

Utilities

Your responsibilities regarding utilities are written in your lease. In most cases, you will be responsible for putting all utilities in your name immediately.

Municipal Services: Garbage/Water/Sewer

Some municipalities provide services such as garbage pick-­‐up, snow plowing, and debris removal on your street. Consult your Real Property Management office to identify what services are available or required in the area where your rental is located.

Yard maintenance/Landscaping

You may be responsible for yard cleanup and landscape maintenance of your property. These responsibilities may be listed in your lease or could be dictated by local law/ordinance. Review this with your Real Property Management office.

When the Rent is Due

Your rent is due in the Real Property Management office by 5:00 p.m. on the day stated in your lease. Call the Real Property Management office immediately if you will not be able to meet this commitment. Additionally, please review your lease for any repercussions that may result from paying your rent late.

Deposits

You may have paid a security deposit or your last month’s rent deposit when you signed your lease. If you paid a last-­‐ month’s-­‐rent deposit, it will be credited to your account in the last month of your lease. If you paid a security deposit, it will be refunded to you subject to any damages or other specifications stated in your lease. If repairs are required or if you otherwise owe money to Real Property Management, these amounts will be deducted from your security deposit prior to any refund. You will be paid within the timeframe required by law, and you can expect a statement of any withholdings made from your security deposit.

How to Make Changes to Your Lease

Your Lease Agreement is a legal, binding contract. There are a few instances, however, in which it may be amended if both parties to the contract agree. Contact your Real Property Management office immediately if you want to make any changes to your lease. Examples include:

• Changes or additions regarding residents
• Changes regarding pets
• A need to terminate your Lease Agreement early

We understand that each situation is different. However, some changes may be governed by state or local laws, so please discuss your situation or concern with your Real Property Management office.

Moving Out

When terminating or fulfilling your lease, there are a few requirements:

1. Notify your Real Property Management office in writing 30 days in advance if you do not intend to renew your lease. In accordance with the Owner’s instructions, we will be working on leasing your unit to a new resident if you have not confirmed your intent to renew your lease.
2. The unit should be cleaned as required by your Lease Agreement and all damage must be adequately repaired. This includes professional carpet cleaning.
3. Move out is at 5:00 p.m. on the day your lease terminates.
4. Keys must be returned to the Real Property Management office.
5. Any outstanding monies owed must be settled immediately.

Maintenance

Real Property Management’s goal is that you have a well-­‐ maintained and habitable unit that you can safely enjoy during the duration of your lease.

Real Property Management has a call service that can be reached 24 hours a day, seven (7) days a week. This is the way that maintenance requests are to be made to Real Property Management. E-­‐mails, text messages, voice mails, or notes are not as effective as phone calls unless the law requires otherwise. Phone calls go directly into our maintenance queue for prioritization, approval, and proper scheduling.

Inspections

Real Property Management conducts three (3) types of inspections. These inspections are not meant to discover all maintenance issues, nor are they meant to be an invasion of privacy. Instead, these inspections are designed to ensure that the unit is in good condition, and to address concerns that you may have. You can expect advance notification of the timing of any inspection in accordance with the law. These inspections include:

Initial Inspection

You should conduct your own inspection when you move into the premises to make sure that you accept the condition of your unit, and that it is consistent with our mutual understanding of the condition of the premises. Please provide your confirmation of the unit’s condition to Real Property Management immediately after you move in. As your Lease Agreement states, you accept the condition of the house “as is.” The results of your inspection will be used at the end of your lease term to help determine any responsibility that should be covered by your security deposit.

Periodic Inspections

Periodic inspections are conducted to ensure several things, such as determining that the basic systems in your home are in good working order. A periodic inspection is a wonderful opportunity for you to identify any maintenance concerns you may have. Please realize that maintaining the quality of your unit is one of our obligations to the Owner of the home. Most often periodic inspections will be conducted by maintenance personnel looking for drips, leaks, malfunctions, etc. Usually, inspections are completed within 30 minutes, but the actual time may vary depending on the condition of the unit. Please be assured that you will be notified in advance of any periodic inspections in accordance with the law.

Final Inspection

This inspection is performed after you have moved out of the premises. It will be quite in-­‐ depth. As discussed here and in your Lease Agreement, the premises are expected to be cleaned to the level required in your Lease, and any damage(s) should be repaired to the satisfaction of Real Property Management. If the unit requires extensive cleaning or repairs, you may have the costs of that effort deducted from your security deposit. If you would like to be referred to our cleaning service or carpet cleaning service, the Real Property Management office will be happy to provide the contact information.

Repairs/Maintenance

Once a maintenance request is received, Real Property Management prioritizes the request in accordance with emergencies having the highest priority. Not everything is an emergency.

Real Property Management complies with the law in considering what must be fixed first so that the resident can safely live in the unit. Many laws allow a certain period of time within which repairs may be made. Here are some common examples of problems that are typically considered emergencies:

• No heat during winter months
• Loss of power or water
• Clogged or non-working toilet when there is only one toilet in the unit
• Flooding
• Security issues (damage from break ins/natural disaster)
• Some legal notices from housing departments/city inspection departments

If the maintenance request is not an emergency, Real Property Management coordinates approval and funding with the Owner to ensure that the problem is addressed properly.

Real Property Management often uses contractors who are insured and licensed (when required) to perform maintenance services. All contractors are regularly monitored to ensure that quality and timeliness standards are met or exceeded.

Breaking the Rules

Your Real Property Management office has been hired by the property Owner to make sure that his or her property is rented and maintained. Part of the Owner’s expectation is that all applicable rules and laws are followed. The typical process that your Real Property Management office will take if it appears that you have violated a condition of the lease or a local ordinance is as follows:

1. We will attempt to contact you to confirm that a situation or violation exists.
2. If the situation or violation is confirmed, the office will at a minimum make a note of it in the property records. The office will confirm your conversation in writing.
3. If the matter is a major incident, the office may have no choice but to follow the legal process as appropriate in accordance with the law or other regulations.

Complaints and Compliments

Your Real Property Management Office is a part of a franchise system, but is locally and independently owned and operated. We are a service-oriented business. We want your occupancy to be as enjoyable as possible, but we understand that sometimes complaints (or compliments) are inevitable. Please give us the opportunity to address any issues prior to making formal complaints. We prefer to go the extra mile to solve any problem than to have you upset or go away angry in any way. While complaints are never fun to receive, we honestly believe that hearing them is the only way we can accept responsibility, resolve the situation, and work to make the systemic changes to prevent a reoccurrence. Likewise, we sincerely appreciate it when you recognize that a Real Property Management employee has gone the extra mile for you. Please feel free to notify us of what we did right for you.

How Complaints are Resolved

Please call or email your Real Property Management office with any concern. Your feedback is used to improve our communications and processes. If your concern is a complaint, here is how we will resolve it:

1. We will do our best to clearly understand the situation from your perspective.
2. We may need some time to look into the issue, and we’ll make a commitment to respond with a status update within a reasonable amount of time.
3. When we respond, we’ll either resolve the issue to your satisfaction, ask what you’d like us to do resolve the issue, or provide options as to how the issue can be resolved.
4. We’ll then do our best to resolve the situation in a timely manner.

We resolve the majority of complaints this way. Be assured that we are committed to working honestly and reasonably with you to achieve our mutual goal of providing a great resident experience.

Please feel free to contact our office should you have any questions or concerns. Again, we look forward to assisting you to make your tenancy enjoyable.