PROView - October 2007 - (Page 5) During the recent historic seller’s market, many investors bought up properties in hopes of a quick sale before the first mortgage payment. Now, months in to what is clearly a slow market, many such investors are responsible for mortgage payments larger than their incomes can support. Many are now looking for financial relief. “In a market where owners may have difficulty selling for the price and terms they’re looking for, many are now considering leasing out their properties in hopes a better sales market will return,” said Elizabeth “Betsy” Morgan, Director of Property Management Services with Prudential Tropical Realty in Trinity and board member of both the National Association of Residential Property Managers and the Florida Association of Residential Property Managers. Naturally, Morgan said, many of these customers will look to their Realtors® for help. So let’s say the owner of a property you listed several months ago calls. He says he cannot wait for a sale. Instead, he’s thinking about renting in hopes of not losing any more money on the property. Fine, you say, thinking that with your knowledge and experience as a Realtor® you can certainly market a lease and handle continued management of the property. It’s only a rental, right? Not so fast. In speaking with Morgan, it became very clear that before you start positioning yourself as a leasing agent and/or property manager, you need to consider the often perilous aspects of practicing this quite different area of the real estate industry. Leasing and property management can be a viable new line of business for Realtors®, especially given our current marketplace. However, before signing that first exclusive right to lease or property management agreement, it is extremely important to become well-educated about the steps involved in representing a property available for lease. “Before you get started, you really need to become an expert.” While I discussed the rental process with Morgan, it was easy to see the many challenges you will face. The first step, she said, is to become knowledgeable about the local rental market. “You’ll need to be familiar with the current market rates in order to best guide a property owner when discussing a likely rent level.” Agreeing with Morgan is Brenda F. Gerdes, Top 10 1. Have a separate rental listing agreement and make sure you have proof of ownership, including all owners of record who must sign the rental listing agreement. 2. Check to make sure the property is not in foreclosure prior to offering it for lease in MLS or through any other advertising vehicle. Tip s for R epr ese nti n ga Pro pe CPM and MPM with Management Specialists, r ty 3. Use an application form that includes criteria for acceptance and use those criteria in such a way as to protect the classes of individuals covered under the Fair Housing Act. 4. Take an application for each adult applicant who will reside in the leased property. 5. Arrange with a credit agency to run credit, criminal and civil records of potential tenants. 6. Verify the source of income of tenants and check any available past and current landlord references. 7. Use attorney-prepared lease form or the FAR/ BAR lease form - the only legal method for a licensee to be involved with a lease. The reason is that a lease is a real estate conveyance, giving all rights of ownership to the property except the ability to sell it. 8. Inform the property owner about Chapter 83 of the Florida statutes, the Landlord Tenant Law. Also, owners who manage the tenancy themselves may need to obtain advice of an attorney on issues that may appear during the lease period. 9. Suggest to owners that they hire a trained professional property manager. With no laws licensing property management, it is recommended to work with members of professional associations of residential property managers, such as the National Association of Residential Property Managers (www.NARPM.org) and the g Florida Association of Residential Property Managers, Inc. (www.FARPM.com). 10. Make sure that a lease is executed by all parties before delivering keys to the tenant, and that pre-move-in funds collected on behalf of owner/s are certified or cleared prior to allowing access to the property. for Lea s e PINELLAS REALTOR® ORGANIZATION October 2007 5 http://www.NARPM.org http://www.FARPM.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PROView - October 2007 PROView - October 2007 Contents Chairman’s Notes Feature Story ProActive 2007 Annual Membership Meeting and Luncheon Marketplace Analysis Home Sales Report MLS Update MLS Upcoming Events Calendar of Events & Programs PRO Biz Welcome New PRO Members Welcome New PRO Affiliate Member News PROView - October 2007 PROView - October 2007 - PROView - October 2007 (Page Cover1) PROView - October 2007 - PROView - October 2007 (Page Cover2) PROView - October 2007 - Contents (Page 1) PROView - October 2007 - Chairman’s Notes (Page 2) PROView - October 2007 - Chairman’s Notes (Page 3) PROView - October 2007 - Feature Story (Page 4) PROView - October 2007 - Feature Story (Page 5) PROView - October 2007 - Feature Story (Page 6) PROView - October 2007 - Feature Story (Page 7) PROView - October 2007 - ProActive (Page 8) PROView - October 2007 - ProActive (Page 9) PROView - October 2007 - 2007 Annual Membership Meeting and Luncheon (Page 10) PROView - October 2007 - 2007 Annual Membership Meeting and Luncheon (Page 11) PROView - October 2007 - Marketplace Analysis (Page 12) PROView - October 2007 - Home Sales Report (Page 13) PROView - October 2007 - MLS Update (Page 14) PROView - October 2007 - MLS (Page 15) PROView - October 2007 - Upcoming Events (Page 16) PROView - October 2007 - Calendar of Events & Programs (Page 17) PROView - October 2007 - PRO Biz (Page 18) PROView - October 2007 - PRO Biz (Page 19) PROView - October 2007 - PRO Biz (Page 20) PROView - October 2007 - PRO Biz (Page 21) PROView - October 2007 - Welcome New PRO Members (Page 22) PROView - October 2007 - Welcome New PRO Members (Page Cover3) PROView - October 2007 - Welcome New PRO Members (Page Cover4)
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