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Are You Aware of Your Responsibilities as a Landlord?

Posted on April 10, 2018April 10, 2018 by admin

A landlord has both pecuniary and non- pecuniary gains. Being a landlord doesn’t mean you only have to collect money (rent) from your tenant. There are numerous responsibilities that you have to take on and do in an efficient manner. As a landlord you must be aware of what responsibilities you have. It is vital not only for a landlord but also for a tenant. A tenant also ought to know a landlord’s responsibilities for happy tenant-landlord relationship. Are you aware of your responsibilities as a landlord?

So what are the responsibilities of landlords?

Repair & maintenance work required for rental properties, safety obligations, legal paperwork, and protecting own rights to the property are some key responsibilities of a landlord. Let’s understand key responsibilities of a landlord in details.

Repair & Maintenance Responsibilities

Repair & maintenance works required for rental properties must be notified immediately by the tenant to the landlord. It is best to provide a written application of the problems and repair works required and give it to the landlord or the assigned property manager or the person who comes and collects the rent. Hence, it is not only a responsibility of the landlord but also for the tenant. If a tenant won’t tell, how the problems will eradicated by the landlord on immediate basis.

Landlords are legally required to fix major problems such as leaking, damages in roofs, floor damages, problems in staircases, not working electrical equipments, and problems in plumbing system, etc. If you are tenant you must notify the problems to the landlord. And being a law abiding citizen, the landlord will solve the problems as soon as possible. A tenant can go legally if the issues are not resolved in committed time frame.
If the any damage to the property is caused by the tenant’s fault & carelessness then it is solely his/her responsibility to repair it. The landlord may do the work but will send the bill of repair cost. It is the right of the landlord to deduct the cost from the security deposit, if the tenant can’t pay it.
Leaky faucets, old paints, torn screens, or worn flooring are some minor issues most tenants face. However, these minor issues should be resolved by tenants themselves, they can request the landlord to do the repair and maintenance work.
It becomes mandatory to do resolve these issues for the landlord if these issues are already present at the property before rented out. There can be several other minor issues with the rental property which have to be managed by the tenants themselves.

Safety Responsibilities

A landlord also has certain safety obligations such as electrical safety, gas safety, and fire safety.

It is responsibility of the landlord to ensure proper electrical installations such as wiring, plug sockets, and light fittings are safe.
He/she also make sure that these electrical installations are regularly checked and maintained.

Legal Responsibilities

Landlords must know their legal rights and responsibilities towards their tenants and their property. Here are some legal rights of landlords.

Repair and maintenance of the rental properties as per the lease agreement.
Regular inspection of the property to known the problems or ensure everything is fine.
Ensure electrical installations are safe and working fine on regular basis.
Ensure safety to the premises and tenants, electrical safety and fire safety.
Provide adequate locks & keys of the apartment.
May have the right to enter the rented out property, as per as contract.
Enter the property to collect rent or make repair works.
Ensure cleanliness of the property, make sure the property is completely clean & safe from insects, rodents and lizards before the tenant move in.
The property manager or property management company or have the similar rights and responsibilities as they work on behalf of the landlord.

A landlord never should lease his/her property without conducting tenant screening session. If you are a landlord and you think these responsibilities as burden then you might take help of professional property management companies in Maryland. There are numerous property management companies in Baltimore or Maryland that can offer you complete property management solution for your residential rental properties in Maryland.

House Rules that Every Landlord Should Explain to Tenants

Posted on March 9, 2018March 9, 2018 by admin

Is there anyone who would like to damage his own property? Of course not, but when a person hire tenants for his rental property then there are chances that he will met the bad tenants who damage or break their properties. Even at some point the good tenants even take advantage of your friendly behavior and leave you regretting on your decision. Soon you will be realizing that things are getting out of your control. One by one the tenants will start breaking the rules and also pay late rent which will leave no option for you than evicting them. That’s why it is very important to explain the detailed house rules to the tenants by the landlord every time they move in to the property.

Here are the important detailed house rules that you should explain to your tenants as the landlord and ask them to strictly follow it:

Late rent

You should explain the rules for paying the rent and also the details for the late rent pay. You should tell them the due date or how much extra days they can get for paying the rent. Will you charge extra fee for late rent or What you can do as the landlord if the tenants will not pay the rent on time.

Your right of entry

Another most important rules you should be discussed with your tenants is your right of entry in the property as a landlord. How and under what circumstances you will be allowed to enter the property? In most of the cases you will need to give notice or warning to the renters about your arrival.

Pet policy

If you don’t allow pets inside your rental property then, you must discuss about it before the tenants move into the property. Discuss the details about it whether the pets are allowed outside the house or what type of pets are prohibited, etc.

Garbage removal

This may seems a minor issue but can be turned into major problem. If your tenants will not remove garbage on time then this can be problem for you as well as for your neighbors also. Clearly explain them when the garbage should be removed.

Explaining the house rules to your tenants will help you to manage your property. Encourage them to ask questions and make sure they understand such details. Do not forget to make a rental agreement for this which will include all these house rules for the tenants as well as for you as the landlord. And if you think managing your Maryland rental property is difficult for you so you can hire property management company in Maryland to manage your property in best way.

Why Renting Out an Investment Property is Better Than Selling?

Posted on January 19, 2018 by admin

People buy an investment property to earn money by hiring quality tenants, but sometimes the situation doesn’t go as their expectations. They face many difficulties while managing their property. Not every landlord invest in an investment property to keep tenants in the property and earn ROI but they can sell it at double price to other in future or some buy it for their personal use. When they unable to manage the property then they opt for selling the property.

Selling a property is good at many circumstances but renting out an investment property is far better than selling the house, you can opt for renting out your property if you are confused with whether to sell or rent out your investment property. There are different situations when you can sell your property like:

You are moving to other state or country.
You are unable to manage your rental property.
There is no one to take care of the property.
You want to buy a new rental property in another city.

If any of the above is your case then, you can sell your property but if not, then you should rent out your property. There are many benefits of renting out a property. Counting the benefits will help you to decide whether you should rent out your property or sell it.

extra income landlordssolutions — Extra Income

Extra income
when you rent out your property then you also set a rental charge for the house which you take from the renters. For occupying space in the rental property the tenants have to pay rent and this becomes your extra income. You can hire quality tenants and earn extra income in the form of rent.

property maintenance landlordssolutions — Property Maintenance

Property maintenance
You don’t need to worry anymore about the property maintenance as the tenants will take care of the property of their own. When someone lives in a property they take care of it like their own and that’s why your tenants will also maintain your property once you will be done with all the repairs and maintenance issues then they will keep up with the maintenance. Hire Professionals to Manage Your Property and Increase Its Value

safety and security landlordssolutions — Safety and Security

Safety and security
An empty house is just like the invitation to thieves and criminals. They generally target vacant places so, you can now save your house from that when you will have renters in your rental property and enjoy cash flow in the form of rent from the tenants.

You can sell your property but before that, you have to do lots of things and renting out your property helps you to earn extra income on monthly basis. And for this, you can hire property management company who can help you to manage your property and also hire potential tenants who will pay rent on time.

Important Steps to Take before Listing Your Investment Property For Sale

Posted on January 17, 2018 by admin

When a landlord fails to manage a property or just get tired of handling tenants complaints, then he opt for selling his rental property. This is actually one of the best ways to get rid of tensions and worries that bothers the landlord during the tenancy period. So, if you are too having issues with your tenants and don’t have anymore patience to deal with the tenants then selling your Bel Air, Maryland rental property. There are many situation when you can sell your investment property like: when the market get slower, you are unable to find the quality tenant, damaged property, unable to manage property, etc. So, you should sell your property on-line where you can get potential buyers and get good price. But before you list your investment property for sale there are many important steps you need to take:

repair home landlordssolutions — Make necessary repairs

Make necessary repairs
Your buyer can ask you for making repair if he find something damaged or will ask you to lower the price. This will also make a bad impression so make necessary repairs if needed to get a good amount for your rental property.

coordinate with tenants — Coordinate with your tenants

Coordinate with your tenants
Well, you have to talk to your tenants about selling your property otherwise you have to wait till the lease agreement has expired. And if you cannot wait till that date then, you should sit and talk about selling your property with your tenants. In fact, you can ask them if they would like to buy it or they can find another property.

photo click of property — Take pictures of the property

Take pictures of the property
Before Listing your property you must take the best and attractive pictures of your property. These pictures will help you to get the attention of the buyers. You can hire professional photographer for this they can use good camera for taking picture of the house. But ensure that your photographer has taken the good picture without using fancy lenses and weird angles so that you can show your buyers the real house.

property document — Gather important documents

Gather important documents
Make sure you have the all the legal documents and papers of your house that you have got at the time of purchasing and the papers that proves you are the owner of the house and also that your property is legal.

property agent landlordssolutions — Hire an agent

Hire an agent
Hiring an agent will help you to find the right buyers for your property. Well you can also hire property management company as they also know about some people who are interested in buying properties and ready to pay a good amount.

Why to Consider Property Management Company?

Prominent Advantages of Hiring property Management Company

Remember all these steps before listing your investment property for sale and sell it at best price by finding potential buyer.

Tips to Find Quality Tenants in Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Posted on January 10, 2018 by admin

Every landlords want to have a peaceful mind while managing their rental property and that can be only possible when they will hire the right and high-quality tenants for their rental property. A potential tenant not only take care of your rental property just like their owns but also never put you in trouble by calling at mid-night for complaining of leaking faucet or anything. You can sleep soundly without any worries and tensions. But the problem is finding a quality tenant for rental property. If you are too looking for potential tenants for your rental property in Anne Arundel County, Maryland then you have to do research and also need to have lots of patience. Finding quality tenant is not an easy task so here are some easy tips for you to find the quality tenants in Anne Arundel County, Maryland:

Advertise
One of the best way to find potential tenants is to advertise your Anne Arundel County rental property. Without advertising people would never come to know about your vacant rental property. And you must advertise your property with all the amenities tenants will going to have. Use both the mediums online and offline to advertise your property.

Use formal application form
Professional property management companies uses formal rental application form to be filled by the tenants. With this form you can collect the personal data of the applicants who are interested in living in your property. And you can use these data for further inquiry.

Use social media
Now people are very much active on social networking sites. And it is one of the best platform to advertise your property or connect with people. You can ask your friends if they know someone who is looking for a rental property in Anne Arundel County and you can also find potential tenant through social media.

Screening tenants
Screening tenants is very much important to hire the most potential tenant for your rental property. You don’t want to encounter with a bad tenant that do not pays rent on time and always make complaints rather you just want a tenant who is employed with good earnings so that he can afford the rent and pay it on time. After advertising your property and getting filled application form from applicants you should start screening process. You must do background check, credit history and also check criminal records. You can also contact the landlord to know about his experience and also ask would he like to keep him as a tenant again?

tenant screening landlordssolutions

Managing property and finding a potential tenant is not only tough but time consuming and expensive process also. Therefore, you must take professionals assistance for this and hire property management company in Anne Arundel County, Maryland to manage your property. Whether your rental property is in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore or anywhere in USA can be managed well by professional property manager.

Why It’s Worth to Read a Property Management Blog?

Posted on January 5, 2018January 17, 2018 by admin

landlordssolutions property management — property management

Managing a property and hiring a potential tenant for a rental property in Howard County, Maryland is not at all easy. This requires professionals assistance and for that people prefer hiring property management company or professional property managers. Whether you want to hire property management company in Howard County, Maryland or want to manage your property by yourself there are some important things that you must know about, and for this you must read blogs of renowned property management companies’ websites. These blogs will inform you or educate you about the legal formalities of managing a Howard county, Maryland rental property or state laws to hire tenants and determine rent for your rental property and much more. Thus, reading a property management blog is really worthy.

You may know how to manage a single unit but not that how to manage all your units together including your residential property in Howard County. Property management blogs actually educates you to manage your property and also the important laws or rules and regulations that you must aware of like:

Landlord-tenants law.
Whether you should do it yourself or hire property management company?
What are the benefits of hiring property management company?
What are your rights as a landlord?
When you can evict a tenant?
When you can keep a security deposit?

They educate you regarding managing rental property. Not only this you also get tips to hire quality tenants for your rental property. The pros and cons of hiring property management company and much more. Apart from these they also give you ideas and tips to manage your property and handle tenants like:

How to deal with your bad tenants and handle their complaints?
How can you be a good landlord?
How to Keep your tenants happy?
How to manage a vacant rental property?
How to be a successful landlord?
What to include in rental agreement?

For all these you get a simple answer is to read blogs written by experts and professional property managers. So, it really a worth to read property management blog. Whether you are a novice or experienced landlord for managing rental property still you should read property management blogs so that you can manage it easily in amazing way. The property managers who are new in the industry can get the ideas to maximize their profits or how to get more clients etc. So, every landlord must read property management blogs.

How to Evict a Tenant from Your Maryland Rental Property?

Posted on December 23, 2017 by admin

Even after several warnings given by you to your tenants they are misbehaving or damaging your property then it is the time to evict the tenant. Well, not every landlord is lucky to enough to get the higher-quality tenant even after screening them. If you are one of those landlords who is suffering difficulties because of his bad tenants then you should evict the tenants.

landlords solutions Eviction of tenants is an expensive process we all know but when it is necessary and they have left no other choice to you then eviction is the last option, How Tough Is To Deal with Bad Tenants. But many landlords all confuse that whether or when the landlord can evict the tenants or they have to hire Maryland property management company for this. Well, it is the right of a landlord to evict a tenant. But there are some circumstances under which you can evict them and you also need to follow the right procedure for this. Here are the ways to evict a tenant that you should follow:

Learn the landlord tenant law
Before you can evict the tenant from your rental property with all their luggages you must be familiar with the landlord and tenants laws. Read the terms and conditions that what does it say and follow the same rule or law. Read the landlord tenant law carefully if you will skip even a single point in court then the court may declare the decision in the favor of the tenants.

Give a valid reason to evict
You just cannot evict a tenant because of their religion, color or background or you cannot throw them out because you don’t like them anymore. You must have some valid reasons to evict the tenants that why are you evicting them. If the court finds you to not prove the valid reasons or have strong proofs then you will not only loose the case but the court may also charge penalty for this.

Give formal notice to the tenants
Without giving a proper notice you cannot evict the tenants. You should send them a notice that why you want them to evict with a valid reason and how much time they have.

File your eviction in court
Visit your local courthouse to file your eviction and pay a fee. As you court doesn’t believe in anything without any proofs so make sure that you have all the documents, bounce check, etc. The clerk will schedule your hearing and will notify the tenants on your behalf.

Evict your tenants
Attend the court hearing and evict your tenant. If they haven’t paid you last few month’s rent then they will have to pay it on a time frame alloted by the court and also the time to leave the property.

Evicting a tenant is not an easy job so you can consider hiring a property management company Maryland to manage your rental property and handle tenants.

Essential Parts of a Property Management Agreement

Posted on December 7, 2017December 23, 2017 by admin

When you have decided to hire property manager/management company then you should review the contract carefully. You must know their roles and responsibility that they will perform for managing your property. Read the terms and conditions carefully and know that how they are going to help you. So, here are the essential parts of a property management that you should pay close attention to:

Services and Fees
Of course you will pay them for what they will provide you. A property manager has so many roles and responsibilities but not every company will provide you every services. You should carefully read about the type of the services they will provide you. What services are included in the fee or for which services they will charge you additional fee and what type of services will not be done at any circumstances. Everything will be written on the agreement and sign only after reading it carefully.

Responsibilities of a property owner
Well the agreement will also include the responsibilities or work of the property owner. The second part of the agreement includes your responsibility as the landlord. What are the things you are obligated to do and what you are prevented. You have to keep reserve fund for the property manager that they can use to maintain and manage the property and for making repairs. Many property managers don’t want the landlord to hire the tenant as they will don’t want to take the responsibility of a tenant that is not hired by them. Even when the landlord or property owner wants to enter the property they have to give proper notice to the tenant or notify the property manager before entering the property. If you are not agreeing to these part then you can talk over it with your property manager. Have look of property management agreement.

Equal Opportunity Housing
You want to make sure that the property management company has a section that includes that they support equal opportunity housing. They will follow the both state and federal fair housing laws.

Duration
The duration is another essential part of the agreement. You surely don’t want to invest on a company which is new for you and you don’t know that quality of their services. So, you can keep the short duration for this but many property management companies in Maryland will not sign a contract less than a year. In this case, you should review the termination clause and make sure that you can terminate the contract if you are unhappy.

Termination Clause
This part should include that when and in what circumstances a property manager can terminate the contract or even the landlord can also terminate it. You may have to pay fee for terminating the contract early.

From now whenever you will hire property management company in Maryland or anywhere in USA then you should carefully review the agreement before signing it.

When There is a Need to Fire the Property Management Company

Posted on November 28, 2017December 23, 2017 by admin

You must have learnt many articles regarding hiring property management company but have you ever come to a situation when you need to fire them as you are not satisfied with their work. For much better assistance in property management, people do prefer to hire the experts but not all the time they get the favourable results from them. There is no doubt in this that having them by your side would always be favourable but sometimes being in a restriction of someone is not favourable.

If you are wondering why we are here with such an article then the best answer to this is that, it happens with many when they are not happy with the services as they had expected something else and are getting something else. In situations like these the only better way to get rid of them then to bear with them after all you are paying them for the task. The time when your property management company is not providing you with the services that you expect from him then it is the high time for you to say good bye to them.

This is a necessary step because until and unless you will not fire the existing you would not get a better option. If the property manager whom you have hired for the task is not responding to your phone call or is not reverting you with emails then you should fire them. This is a necessary step because it is their ultimate duty to take care of your property and at the meantime they should also intimate you about the same.

The loopholes from their side would really be harmful for you by the end hence it is required that you should stop the process and should look for some other favourable option and choice for the same. In case, the property management company that you have hired for the task is not responsive well when it comes to the accounts and expenses then you should fire them.

Tolerating fraudsters in any case is against the ethics of business and would ultimate result in something non favourable of course. Do take care well of the things and do keep a note of their work. Of course, they are professionals and can handle the task in pretty well order but by the end of all, you need to look out for the things. If the things would go on wrong then it would be your loss not theirs.

Avinash Kumar is a passionate business analyst and writer. He loves writing on various topics especially on business related topics. Currently he is rendering his services to professional Real Estate, MD Property and Rental Management Company Baltimore that provides services of professional property management, rental management, tenants’ management, landlords, property maintenance and the best working area of property management in Anne Arundel and Baltimore County and other cities and counties of USA.

Land Lords Solutions

Do’s and Dont’s for Landlords in Maryland

Posted on October 30, 2017December 23, 2017 by admin

Avinash Kumar is a passionate business analyst and writer. He loves writing on various topics especially on business related topics. Currently he is rendering his services to professional Real Estate, Maryland Property Management Company, that provides services of professional property management, rental management, tenants’ management, landlords, property maintenance and the best working area of property management in Anne Arundel and Baltimore County and other cities and counties of USA.

https://www.landlordssolutions.com/ — *Property Management Maryland*

Renting is a complicated and it is because of the rules and regulations that are the inclusions of the process. Managing things is tough because each and everything needs to be done under the jurisdiction of law. Land owner or property owner is actually surrounded by many responsibilities at a time and only furnishing the complete duties, he can be at the safest side of the entire management. There are certain things that landlords are supposed to do and at the meantime there are things that they should avoid. We are here mentioning the points that landlord should consider while renting out the property.

The first and the foremost important thing is that the landlord should and can never discriminate on the tenant. If you are planning to rent your home to family and bachelors come to you hen you cannot turn them down just because you are waiting for family. Screening tenant is necessary. If you will not verify their identity and their financial status then you may get into complications by the end of the process. If you think you are not able to verify their identity then you can hire property management company in Maryland, USA as it is their business to verify and screen the tenant to make sure that by the end you have a reliable and lead with you.

Also, if you are managing and maintaining your property well then you must acquire recent knowledge about the market. This includes rents, modern furnishing needs etc. In a totality, a property owner should always know about the background of the tenant to be at the safest side always and ever. Regular check-up at the property regarding maintenance and other improvements is necessary. Time to time interacting with the tenant regarding their issues and problems would also make you a good landlord.

With this, you are supposed to keep a regular track of the property. If any irrelevant damage is caused to the property by the tenant then you have the full right to deduct the same from security deposit. If you are maintaining something from your end which is to be done by the side of the tenant then you have the free right to deduct it from the security deposit. Don’t forget to renew the rental agreement on time because sometimes the delay can lead you to legal complications.

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