Owner FAQs

Yes! Graeme Grant is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of California.

Yes! Our office number routes to a cell phone - you can text us any time.

Yes! We love to direct deposit rent proceeds into our owner accounts.

Yes! We also forward a copy of the executed lease to our property owners for their review, and you are welcome to request changes as needed.

Yes! We often buy and sell real estate in partnership with our property management clients. Call us for details.

If you choose to receive rent proceeds by check, your payment will be mailed usually within one business day of receiving rent payment. Holidays sometimes slow things down, but you can be assured that we do not delay in sending you your rent proceeds.

Tenants can pay through their tenant portal (our preferred method), but we are also required to accept any means of legal tender - cash, check, money order, etc. Tenants can mail checks, drop them in our mail drop, or deposit through the portal.

The market in the area bears a security deposit of around 1.5x the rent, although we do request additional security deposits for animals. We typically break that into two equal payments - half up front and half a month after taking possession. This makes it easier for the tenants to come up with what is often a significant amount of move-in monies.

Today! It doesn’t take long - we come out and inspect the property (and usually meet you, the owner!), take photographs, and get our management agreement signed. This can usually be done same day. We know that once you’ve made a decision about renting your property and choosing a PM, you don’t want to a delay in receiving rents.

We manage all kinds of properties; the majority are single family residences, duplexes, and fourplexes. We also manage commercial properties.

You will receive monthly statements showing a break down of your properties and where money was deposited and sent out. There should never be any surprises on your monthly statements. We will also send out an annual statement at the beginning of the year for the previous year showing a summary of income and expenses to make tax time less stressful!

We hold tenant security deposits in our Trust Account.

We analyze data from our current rental holdings, coupled with 45 years of experience in pricing rental properties. We also use a service called RentRange, which pulls current rent comps from a massive database of rental properties in the area around your home. Ultimately, the market dictates what a home is worth - if it’s too high, it will take longer to rent out.

Yes! We advertise for tenants and screen them thoroughly. Once they’ve past our screening process we show them the home; if they want to move forward with renting the property we will contact you to discuss their application. You are the owner, and always have the final say on approval.

While it’s true that homes may rent for more if they have furniture, the vast majority of applicants already have their own furniture - they don’t want to be sleeping in your bed! Sometimes - if there’s a local disaster such as a fire - there may be insurance companies looking for furnished rentals… in those circumstances it’s helpful to have furniture in place, but those opportunities are few and far between.

Property managers charge a monthly fee, and so it’s a fair question to ask - why should I get one, when I can manage the property myself? We specialize in finding the best, most qualified tenants for your home, and then making sure that they pay their rent every month and take care of your investment. We also oversee ongoing maintenance, and leverage our experience to ensure that you’re getting the best rent return you can for your property. We believe that good property managers will pay for themselves. We also get reports nearly every day from homeowners who tried to manage their own property, but found themselves getting further and further behind on rent collections - tenants are more likely to “play to your heart” than they will with professional property managers.

Most of our clients hire us because they want to be hands-off regarding management. That doesn’t mean they give us a blank check to do whatever we deem necessary - we keep a minimum of $250 in our Trust Account for minor incidental maintenance expenses… we will get bids for any expenses that are going to cost more than that (e.g., a new water heater or furnace), and discuss those bids with you before spending any money. The only exception might be in the case of an emergency, such as a septic overflow - in emergencies we may have to “act first” and “discuss” with the owner later. Those circumstances are, however, rare.

We have a team of well-vetted contractors and handymen available to address any need your property may have. Tenants are able to contact us 24/7 through the website portal, or they can text/call/email us anytime. We respond quickly, because one of the factors that ensures a good tenant will stay long term in your home is timely repairs. Tenants don’t like to feel like their maintenance requests are being ignored, so we keep them (and you!) closely posted regarding maintenance issues.

A survey of vacated properties that we manage over the past five years shows that less than 1% of owners have had to pay money out of pocket for repairs after a tenant has left the home. We keep a strong security deposit in order to avoid repairs having to come out of the owner’s pocket; there are inevitably times when repairs need to be done, but more than 99% of the time those repairs are less than the tenant’s security deposit. Most tenant security deposit deductions are for general cleaning or yard work. There are items that need to be taken care of from time to time that are not tenant responsibilities - but that would be the same case whether the home was rented or you lived in the home yourself (general ongoing maintenance items - occasional painting, some yard work, etc.).

Most of our clients want good, long-term tenants. Tenant turnaround is usually the most expensive part of owning a rental property. We surveyed our tenants over the past 18 months or so - more than 86% of our tenants have been in their rental home for over 12 months; some have been in their homes for 15+ years! Of the remaining 14%, most are newer tenants who have moved in within the past year. There are some who move within the 12-month window, but most of the time tenants stay longer term; moving is expensive - they don’t want to move out any more than you want to lose a good tenant.

We collect more than 99% of rents every month. There are inevitably going to be a handful of tenants who are experiencing a change in circumstances that affects their ability to pay rent, but they’re rare and we do everything we can to manage those situations so that they don’t become an ongoing problem.

No. Our rental agreement has been tried and tested through 45+ years of property management. We have defended our owners in court using our agreement, and are confident that it is the best protection possible for our owners. We do make modifications from time to time to ensure we’re current with the law, and you’re welcome to make suggestions that we may or may not need to incorporate into the agreement.