Roseville Property Management Teams Avoid Legal Problems

There is a right way and a wrong way to conduct Roseville property management. Do it the right way and you will have a positive experience while getting a good return on investment. Do it the wrong way and you can land yourself in hot water, quickly. Landlords who do it the wrong way are often uneducated about laws, lazy or cheap. Do not let yourself fall into one of these categories. Doing so can cost you thousands of dollars, days in court, and can ruin your reputation as a property manager. If you want to stay out of trouble, educate yourself on all federal, state, and local laws. Participate in continued education courses and simply treat others the way you would want to be treated.

Adhere to All Laws

Some of the most popular and important laws that landlords must obey are the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair House Act, and Habitability Laws. Each law protects the following people:

• Americans with Disabilities Act: This law protects and prohibits discrimination from Roseville property management companies against individuals who are disabled. This includes physical and mental impairments that severely limits one or more major life activities.
• Fair Housing Act: This law protects and prohibits discrimination against people based on their race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disbility.
• Habitability Laws: These laws provide minimum requirements for landlords with the purposed to protect renters by ensuring they are living in safe, habitable conditions that safeguard life, health, limb, property, and public welfare.

When leasing your rental property, be certain to treat all prospective renters equally and with respect. If you give a discount to one, you must give that discount to all until the day is over. Starting on the next day, you can change your rental price or promotions. Market or advertise your rental property to all classes of people. Do not target certain audiences that you want to rent your property. For example, Roseville property managers cannot say in their ads “…looking for female occupants only” or “…only for high income professionals with no kids.” There are people who are hired by anti-discrimination companies to be Secret Shoppers. A Secret Shopper is someone who pretends to be interested in your rental, but is really there to test you to see if you present any signs of discrimination against them that fall under the ADA or FHA.

Remove Liability from Yourself

Private landlords and Roseville property management experts can protect themselves from legal problems by hiring licensed and insured repair workers. Ask your vendors if their liability insurance is current. Most vendors will be happy to show you proof of licensing and insurance as a guarantee. Hiring repair companies with good reputations and the proper credentials helps to remove liability from yourself if the work is not done correctly or if a faulty repair results in the harm or injury of your tenant. If you complete a do-it-yourself repair and something goes wrong, resulting in the death or injury of your tenant, you can expect an expensive lawsuit coming your way. Roseville property management companies must also operate under a licensed real estate agent. Licensed agents are allowed to collect money for security deposits and rent. Respond quickly to all maintenance requests, whether small or large, and keep yourself available at all times. Yes, that means even at 4:00 AM and on Christmas Day. Making yourself available to tenants lets them know you care about them and your property. In return, they will treat your property well and with respect knowing that you do too.

Honesty, Record Keeping, and Confidentiality

Accounting and Security Deposits must all be handled correctly and by a licensed real estate agent or overseen by him or her. This includes disbursements of funds or deposits after move out, accounts payable, and receivable. Be honest in your money dealings and keep spreadsheets or use official property management software for record keeping. Roseville property management teams that want to avoid legal troubles document everything. Document maintenance, when the request was received, when and how you responded, what company you hired to make the fix, and your follow up conversation with the tenant regarding their satisfaction with the work. Document all conversations you have tenants regarding lease violation findings, property concerns, entry notices or rent payment difficulties. Keep all private data confidential. Tenant applications have Social Security Numbers listed on them and must be kept in a locked filing cabinet.

Avoid All Risks of Lawsuits by Hiring Roseville Property Management Team, RPM Select

The experts at Select have more than 30 years of experience and have been highly trained and certified to operate as property managers. They participate in continued education classes to make certain they are always up to date on the latest changes to housing laws and that they are following each law perfectly. Do not risk your chance of a lawsuit by hoping you know the laws well enough. As you can see above, there is a lot to know and remember. One slip and the profit margins on your rental property are down the drain. Keep yourself and your money safe, call Select today.