Are you considering a change in management for your Missoula investment property, or maybe you are just beginning your search to purchase investment property in Missoula. This is a great place to start. Below are some basic questions you should ask any of your prospective property managers during your interview process.
A: We begin advertising your Missoula rental property immediately, once we receive the notice to vacate.
The rental market in Missoula is seasonally based. The market begins to pick up in March and demand for rental property continues to increase through the summer, while late fall and winter experience a lull which affects both vacancy and rent rates. Rentals that are priced appropriately that are in good condition and pet friendly rent out at a quicker pace than those that suffer from deferred maintenance and those that do not allow pets.
The market rent must match the condition of the rental. If there is a lack of interest in the rental that is a sign an adjustment needs to be made. Either change condition, by making improvements, or change in market rent to match the condition. We will always make suggestions to reduce your vacancy rate.
We are so confident in our abilities that we are pleased to announce our new 21 Day Leasing Guarantee! We will guarantee to find you a fully qualified resident within 21 days or we will waive the weekly advertising fee.
Here is how it works:
A: Rent Smart Property Management takes a multi-pronged approach in the marketing on our rentals. It's a blend of BRANDING, TECHNOLOGY and relationship building.
When we launched back in the spring of 2012, it was a different time. Management companies had very little to offer in the line of resident relations. We knew if we could develop a loyal following of qualified prospective renters, we could create a shift in our market. We launched our Facebook page and worked diligently to grow an audience. We had to give the audience what they wanted, and they wanted pet-friendly properties. They wanted to be treated with dignity and respect. They wanted their deposits back.
Our social media posting of pet-friendly rentals, coupled with security deposit refund statistics goes a long way in building trust. And that trust lays a foundation of loyalty that is rewarded for years to come. This loyalty is something you can't buy, something you can't pay for, you have to earn it through actions. This is a huge benefit of placing your Missoula rental property with Rent Smart Property Management.
We built a brand on doing things differently. We built it and they came.
Rent Smart Property Management has come so far in 7 short years of managing real estate in Missoula. We were the first to invest in responsive web design, the first to watermark our listing photos to help prevent fraud, the first to offer online marketing videos of our listings. Our technology continues by offering self showings by lock box on our vacant properties. This opens up the showing window to 7 days a week from 9am - 7pm. Online applications, online lease signings, online rent payments, online maintenance portal, everything we do is with convenience in mind. Our prospective residents LOVE it, and time and time again we are told how convenient it is to work with us. And that is exactly what we want to hear, and you should, too.
A: No, but you should.
We want the same results that you do. Quality tenants, with secure jobs, stable income, good credit and residence history. If they show responsibility in all other aspects of their life, it is reasonable to expect that they would also be responsible pet owners.
Over 60% of our population in Missoula County has a licensed dog. This does not take into consideration the number of unlicensed dogs or cats. This a huge demographic in our market. If we close the door to the entire pet owning pool we are down to slim pickings.
For a pet to be considered, they have to be mature and of a non-aggressive breed.
We are happy to report that currently all of our properties do either accept pets or will consider a pet in the right circumstance. Your level of comfort dictates our parameters for your property. We always charge an additional deposit. And, pet-friendly properties tend to rent far quicker than pets prohibited properties. This means your property is ahead of the competition.
Rent Smart has come a long way with our branding to position ourselves as the "pet-friendly" property management company in Missoula. We have the largest social media following on Facebook in the property management industry in the Missoula market, with over 1300 fans at the time of this writing.
Our pet-friendly branding helps draw greater attention to our listings than the competition. And each advertisement caters to the property owner's degree of comfort in accepting a pet.
As an added layer of protection, we have our pet owning prospective renters complete a rental application for their pet. We utilize the services of a third party screening agency to fully vet the animal. Whether it is an emotional support animal or just the family dog, each pet is fully screened.
We have an amazing track record of placing quality residents, and quality residents who are responsible pet owners. Our security deposit refund statistics reflect our success. On average, the departing residents in 2019 received over 87% of their security deposits back!
We are so confident that you should accept a pet, that we will guarantee up to $1,000.00 of interior damages caused by the pet above and beyond the security deposit at no additional cost to you.
Here is how it works:
A: Renting is not without risk. We do our best on the front end to minimize risk by running a credit report, background check, collecting back up documentation like driver’s licenses and copies of bank statements, and vehicle registrations.
The added benefit of collecting the additional documentation is to look for red flags, such as addresses that don’t match up to the applications, wage garnishments on paystubs, running balances on bank statements, NSFs, etc. At Rent Smart Property Management, we dig a little deeper than most. During the course of our time professionally managing rentals in Missoula, we have uncovered countless fraudulent applications and protected Missoula investment property owners from potentially thousands of dollars in lost rent, legal fees, and damages.
Our minimum credit score requirement is perhaps the biggest differentiator between Rent Smart Property Management and the competition. Most of our competitors will accept credit-challenged individuals with a cosigner or additional deposit. With 7 years of history, we are proud to report that our systems work. We successfully collect the rent month after month and our clients receive timely distributions, thanks to our strict screening criteria.
Thorough screening, coupled with proactive monitoring helps minimize risk.
A: Non-emergency requests are to be submitted online through the resident portal. Rent Smart Property Management responds to the resident directly through the portal keeping all communications in writing. We attempt to troubleshoot the issue before sending out a technician to save our clients unnecessary expenses, say, for a tripped circuit breaker. If an outside vendor is assigned to the request, the resident and vendor communicate directly through the portal to arrange access. Once the request is closed out and invoiced, the residents receive a followup on work performed to ensure customer satisfaction.
We also employ an after-hours emergency dispatching service to handle all emergency calls after hours, nights and weekends. The dispatch service is well versed in trouble shooting prior to dispatching the vendor, and often times can walk the tenant through the solution and assess if the service call can wait until normal business hours to save the property owner in increased emergency service fees.
Technology is the vehicle that drives every facet of our business. Property management, as an industry, is rapidly changing. Technology continues to evolve to increase efficiency, manage work flows, track processes, enhance communication, along with inspection software, self showing technology, as well as online applications, lease signing, and online payments. We have leveraged technology to attract the savviest of renters, to reach the broadest market and rent your property for the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time. The technology fee allows us to continue to invest in technology that provides you the most value for the greatest return.
A. Great, let's get started! Fill out the form below and we will be in touch, shortly! In the meantime, please feel free to explore our pricing options and Rent Smart Guarantees.
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