• Understand the fee structure: It goes without saying that you should consider the cost of the service in relation to the services offered.  Often managment companies charge 10% or more of the rental income on your properties.  You can also expect additional fees for the initial rental and maintenance costs.  Review the contract to ensure that you are not surprised by the cost of services.
• Review the rental companies proposed lease and termination notices: Ultimately, you are responsible if your manager is using outdated leases and termination notices.  Problems with these forms can cause you to lose precious time and money if your eviction proceeding is delayed or dismissed because of inadequate forms.
• Review their fair housing policies: All property managers should know that there are federal anti-discrimination laws that apply in housing rentals.  If a potential manager cannot answer your questions about the laws or openly makes discriminatory statements in your presence, you may want to think twice.
• Take a look at other properties the potential manager is currently handling.  Do they look well kept?  Is the yard maintained?  If the other properties in the manager’s portfolio look run down, you may want to look elsewhere. 
• How does the manager talk about the tenants? If a potential manager sees the tenants as the enemy, you may have future problems.  In my experience, when people have healthy relationships with the landlord or property manager, they tend to cooperate and pay the rent.  When the relationship breaks down or the tenant feels disrespected, it becomes harder to collect. 
• What are the manager’s policies with regard to scheduled maintenance and inspections?  It is a good practice to have quarterly walk throughs of your property to ensure that they are maintained.  While you are there, you can see the properties yourself and talk to your tenants if there are things that need repairing.  This is also a way to verify that the mainenance you were charged for was done in a satisfactory manner.

Today’s Topic: Removing Non-Compliant Tenants

The new landlord tenant law allows landlords to terminate the leases of tenants who fail to comply with the lease, create a hazard or fail to pay rent.  In order to terminate the tenancy of a non-compliant tenant, the landlord must give a 14 day notice to tenants who fail to comply with the lease or cause a hazard.  If the tenant has failed to pay rent the landlord need only give a 7 day notice before terminating the tenancy. In either case, the notice must explain to the tenant the nature of the deficiency and explain how much time the tenant has to cure the problem before termination. If the tenant does not cure and remains in possession of the dwelling the landlord may pursue an unlawful detainer.

§ 35-9A-421. Noncompliance with rental agreement; failure to pay rent.

(a) Except as provided in this chapter, if there is a material noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement or a noncompliance with Section 35-9A-301 materially affecting health and safety, the landlord may deliver a written notice to terminate the lease to the tenant specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than 14 days after receipt of the notice. If the breach is not remedied within the 14 days after receipt of the notice to terminate the lease, the rental agreement shall terminate on the date provided in the notice to terminate the lease unless the tenant adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, in which case the rental agreement shall not terminate.

(b) If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within 7 days after receipt of written notice to terminate the lease for nonpayment and if the rent is not paid within the 7-day period, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement at the expiration of the 7-day period. If a noncompliance of rental agreement occurs under both subsection (a) and this subsection, the 7-day notice period to terminate the lease for nonpayment of rent in this subsection shall govern.

(c) Except as provided in this chapter, a landlord may recover actual damages and obtain injunctive relief for noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement or Section 35-9A-301. If the tenant’s noncompliance is willful, the landlord may recover reasonable attorney’s fees.