What happens when you own a home in East Bay, San Francisco but live in Westport, Connecticut? It can be difficult, if not stressful, having to manage your property through remote control. Each time repairs are needed or old tenants leave and new ones are sought, the home owner has to travel to East Bay. The best way to simplify the process of owning a rental home in East Bay is to hire a full service property management team. This is exactly what Stephen B. did when he hired ACL Real Estate and Property Management to take care of his East Bay real estate.
Case Study: Managing Rental Property in East Bay
Stephen B. owned a two-bedroom house in East Bay which he wanted to put up on rent to earn some extra income. However, living and working in Connecticut didn’t make it easy to take care of all the aspects of putting a home up for rent in East Bay. This is when Stephen found ACL Real Estate and Property Management, a full-service property management firm in East Bay. After spending a long time talking to Stephen, understanding his needs not only from the property manager but also the type of tenants he was looking for, here is how we went about the process:
- Site visit and inspection: We visited the two-bedroom home in East Bay to check the condition the property was in, the repairs and modifications that would help Stephen get the best rental price and to generally gather as much information as we could about the home and how to best market it. We also needed to ensure that the property complied with all local rules and regulations for tenancy.
- Creating a marketing plan: We then listed the property online as well as publishing print advertisements to attract the right candidates.
- Repairs and renovation: At the same time, we put our trusted contractors on the job to clean up the place and put a fresh coat of paint. We checked for leaks and other repairs to make the place comfortable to live in. Since the home had not been lived in for some time, we also undertook minor modifications that would make the kitchen and bathroom appealing to tenants.
- Screening tenants: Soon the applications for tenancy for this two-bedroom home in East Bay started pouring in. With rents skyrocketing in the more central regions of San Francisco, families and professionals are flocking to East Bay and the Peninsula regions. We took on the responsibility of meeting with and interviewing all tenants. We organized home viewings as well. We were able to come up with a shortlist of potential renters for Stephen to choose from. We also did all the background checks needed, including checking their credit history as well as history of tenancy.
- Signing the lease: Once Stephen had communicated his preference, we went ahead to finalize the deal, draw up the rent agreement and ensure that all the paperwork was done. All Stephen had to do was come down to sign the papers.
- Ongoing maintenance and support: After the renting family moved in, we continued to offer both Stephen and the family our ongoing support, regularly following up for maintenance and any other needs they might have.
According to our experience as East Bay property managers, we find that the key to keeping both landlords and tenants happy is regular and prompt communication. We make sure we deliver regular reports to the landlord and respond quickly to the tenants whenever they need our help. This is what Stephen had to say about his experience with us:
“Charles is fantastic. I have been using ACL management for over 5 yrs and I have had no problem. He is caring both about my and the tenants needs. I highly recommend their services.”
