Real Estate is still one of the best investment opportunies available.  Your investment deserves the services of experienced professionals using their time and expertise to maximize your return on investment.

While the reasons our clients choose professional management vary, here are some of the key reasons many people elect professional management over self-management:

• We handle maintenance and emergency repairs, allowing you to sleep at night.
• We enforce collection of rents and serve the proper notices upon failure to pay.
• We understand and apply the correct federal, state, and local laws, keeping you and your investment out of trouble.
• We know the local market, have an extensive network of contacts, and have advertising resources available to us at discounted rates. This allows us to effectively market your vacant home to prospective residents to get it filled.
• After you add up the increased rent we can often command, the discounts you'll receive on advertising, and the company rate we get on repairs, you'll often make more money than if you managed the property yourself!

We will answer the renter's maintenance concerns and arrange for necessary repair work.  In fact, we provide a 24-hour emergency maintenance number if a problem should arise in the middle of the night.  This adds security to the tenant as well as you, the investor.  We are watching after your property 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Prudential American has an in house maintenance staff to take care of the routine maintenance problems.  We will seek bids from licensed contractors on any major problems i.e. plumbing or a/c, heating etc..  Our preferred vendor list has been refined over the past 25+ years.  Pricing, prompt service and quality workmanship are all part of our Vendor evaluation process.  Any discounts we receive from a Vendor are passed along to you.   

Depending on the amount of the repair and the emergency behind Prudential American will make every effort to contact the Owner to authorize repairs over $150. 

We do require that you leave $350 in your account for emergency repairs.

Every Owner's biggest fear is getting a bad Tenant that will damage his property! 

Prudential American has found that putting the applicant through a thorough screening is the best way to weed out the bad ones.  We do an extensive credit check, background check, veryify their employment and contact previous landlords.  Our experience has been that a person with good credit will apply that level of responsibility to other areas of his life. 

Below is a guide to help you see what it will cost you.  Please call or e-mail to see exactly what your particular property would cost.

1.  There is a one-time $250 account set up fee.  This covers the costs of setting up your accounting, registering your home as a rental with the State, Statutory Agent filing, initial inspections, coordinating any repairs or clean up that may need to be done. 

2.  You can expect to pay for the issuance of a city sales tax license for your property, approximately $75 depending on what city your property is in.  note:  License is required for all rentals in the state.

3.  No Lease up fees or renewal fees.  Many companies charge $500 or more everytime a new Tenant signs a lease on your property and then has a charge for signing a renewal.  Prudential American does not charge  these fees because we believe that finding and keeping a good tenant is in both our best interests.

4.  Because we don't charge lease up fees, we do charge you for advertising, since this is the best way to attract prospective renters.  We utilize many things to keep your costs low, such as the MLS, Internet Advertising, the HomeRentals Network and print ads directing home hunters to our website to see pictures and a description of your home.  Getting your home rented quickly is always the goal since neither you or Prudential American makes money until it is rented.

5.  Listing fee of $200 at the time of rental.  This fee is paid to the leasing agent that brings a qualified Tenant to your property.  MLS listings offer a $200 commission to any Real Estate Agent to encourage showings.

6.  You then have a monthly management fee between 8 and 10%.     Rates vary depending on the rent amount and whether you are a multiple property owner.

Saves you time, work, and stress:

• You don't have to hire someone to clean, paint, or make repairs. 
• You don't have to advertise, take rental calls, and show the property.  
• You don't have to screen applications and be apprehensive about who to pick.  
• You don't have to execute a rental agreement, worry about adding ddendums, fill out the move-in inspection report, and deposit money.  
• You don't have tenants calling at all hours of the day and night.  
• You don't have to confront tenants on tough issues like collecting rent or taking better care of the property.  
• You don't have to collect NSF checks. 
• You don't have to serve legal notices or start an eviction. 
• You don't have to schedule and fill out the move-out inspection report. 
• You don't have to mail the tenant's accounting report and refund check. 
• You don't have to start the process all over again. 
• You don't have to worry about the property or be shocked by its condition when you hire a Professional Property Manager. Professional Property Managers are dedicated to selecting quality tenants and keeping your investment in good repair with minimal cost. They want your real estate investment to be a success not a failure.  
• One last benefit - your leasing and management fees are usually a tax deduction.

Are there good reasons for managing your own rental property? 

Are they worth the risk?  

What Distinguishes a Professional Property Manager from other Landlords?  

• Do you know all of the landlord/tenant laws for your city, state, and federal government? 
• Do you know rent values, vacancy factors, and time on the market in your area?  
• Do you have a rental application and consistent screening policies that meet all of your legal obligations?  
• Do you take the time to perform thorough move-in/move-out written inspections and routine property inspections? 
• Do you personally know reputable painters, electricians, roofers, chimney cleaners, carpenters, furnace and appliances repairmen who are licensed, affordable, and reliable?  
• Do you effectively confront and negotiate with the tenant and enforce the terms of your rental agreement?  
• Do you have the ability to recover NSF checks, evict tenants, and collect bad debts?  

A Professional Property Manager Does

Sometimes it’s difficult to know, as a landlord of a Rental home, what you are responsible for and what falls to your tenants. Read on for our brief guide to landlord duties.

Livability Mandate
A landlord’s greatest obligation to his tenants is to make sure that the structure complies with all existing building, housing and health codes — the component pieces of a property that add up to “livability.” Be sure that you are educated about local, state and federal requirements and that you are in accordance with them.  Rely on Prudential American Property Management to keep you in compliance with your obligations.

The Building
The property must be weatherproof, have natural lighting in every room, offer emergency exit access, and have windows that open up at least halfway. The windows need to be fitted with some kind of security device and the front entrance should be equipped with a deadbolt. The structure should also have a sufficient number of working smoke alarms.

Health and Hygiene
This landlord’s mandate includes properly working plumbing, heating and electrical systems; hot and cold running water; a functioning kitchen; bathroom; tub and shower.  The landlord also has to make sure that any lead paint has been removed in an approved manner and that rodent or insect infestations are treated effectively.

Common Areas
The landlord also must maintain common areas of the structure, including hallways (in apartment buildings), stairs, yards and entryways, and make sure that all walkways (hallways, entrances, paths through the complex) are properly lit.  If any of these items fail or require attention, the landlord must respond to notification of the problem in a timely manner.

Wear and Tear
It is important to be able to distinguish between normal wear and tear on the property’s structure, systems and appliances, versus damage or negligence on the part of the tenant, so that repair costs fall to the proper party.  Prudential American can help with these distinctions and give guidance on the expected life of systems, flooring, etc.

Security Deposit
Arizona law says that a landlord can charge for a security deposit of not more than 1 ½ times the rent.  Deposits must be held in a Trust Account until such time as the Tenant moves out.   The lease must clearly state whether the Tenant will be earning interest on the deposit.  Tenants who have their deposit used to cover damages must be given an itemized list of costs and have their deposit refunded within 14 business days. Failure to do so can have severe monetary consequences for the Landlord, regardless of the condition the Tenant left the home in. 

Though there a lot of local and state variations on the letter of the landlord’s duties to his or her tenants, most basic items are required across the country. Be sure to take advantage of local resources and Prudential American Property Management to make sure you understand the details of your responsibilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can the landlord charge for a security deposit?