The first step is to choose a service plan which best meets your needs. Once you have chosen the service plan that that’s right for you, contact us via the web form, or at (916) 573-1730, to discuss the next steps. We will need you to sign a Property Management Agreement, which will spell out many of the terms of service. 

Full Service property management includes the following:

1. Listing Preview (initial consultation) – property manager will view the property on site, make recommendations for any needed cleaning, repairs, landscaping, and so on. Property manager will take photos if photo-ready, to be used for advertising & listing the home “for rent.”

2. Advertising (listing) – property manager will create the listing (rental ad), upload photos, and advertise the property for rent on websites such as Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Craigslist, Facebook, and others. Advertising fees for the above are built-in (included) with our service plans.

3. Applications & Tenant Screening – property manager will respond to applicant requests, facilitate showings, and process applications. Applicants are required to pay applicable application fees. Tenant screening costs such as reviewing applications, verifying employment, verifying income, and verifying rental references, are built into (included) with our service plans.

4. Lease Agreement Preparation – property manager will create a Lease, custom-tailored to the specific property, including considerations for local and state ordinances, and several other important clauses for items such as monthly rental price, deposits, time periods, HOAs, rules and restrictions, parking, and so on. 

5. Rent Collection – property manager will facilitate the collection of rent. As a built-in convenience feature for tenants and owners, tenants are directed to pay rent through their secure tenant portal, via the Rentvine property management software suite (cloud-based). Tenants can easily make payments through their portal, update payment information, and view their bills in an easy-to-read, user-friendly format. 

We offer tenants multiple ways to conveniently and securely access their portals. We take security very seriously. We do not store tenants’ payment information…instead, Rentvine works directly with CGI Forte (a globally recognized and trusted secure payment gateway), to process tenant payments, using state-of-the-art data encryption software.

6. Owner Disbursements – property manager will distribute to owner on a monthly basis, all net proceeds after rents are received for that period, minus management fees, and minus any other fees which were included by Absolute Property Management during that period, such as expenses paid to contractors, landscapers, electricians, and plumbers. 

Typically owners will have a “reserve” fund, which is a pre-paid amount around $300-$500, to be used for situations where the property manager must coordinate and pay for services and repairs on short notice. In situations where such an expense will exceed the available amount remaining in an owner’s reserve, and where Absolute Property Management must pay out-of-pocket in excess of the owner’s reserve balance, the remainder will be billable to the owner, and depending on the situation, can be listed as a charge on the owner’s monthly statement, and subtracted from the net proceeds due to the owner for that period…where an expense is in excess of the reserve balance, the property manager will contact the owner for prior approval, before lining up any such contractor or vendor. 

7. Owner Statements – After monthly owner payments are disbursed, an owner’s statement will be generated, and a notification will be emailed to the owner. Owner’s statements include a breakdown of all rent income and expenses for that period, and are listed in an easy-to-read, user-friendly format, conveniently downloadable in PDF format. 

8. Maintenance Requests – Property manager will facilitate work orders and tenant maintenance requests. Tenants can submit maintenance requests directly through their tenant portal. Once a maintenance request is received, we will process the request, and determine whether the request item is a “tenant expense” or “owner expense,” based upon the terms of the specific Lease Agreement. Currently we do not charge processing fees for this, and we do not “upcharge” or tack on additional markup fees for such expenses…instead, as a convenience, for such expenses paid out-of-pocket by Absolute Property Management, we forward the “actual expense” to the owner. 

Full Service property management offers a wide range of convenience services to owners, including consultation, rental listing preparation, Lease Agreement preparation, rent collection, owner payment disbursements, owner statements, and facilitating maintenance requests. However, as an owner, you should be aware that are other expenses involved with owning a rental property, which are not covered in our standard service plans. 

The following services and expenses “are not” included in our Full Service property management Plans: 

1. Cost of materials & labor required to make the property rent-ready. It’s common for a rental property to need items such as cleaning, small repairs, landscaping, and carpeting / flooring, prior to advertising the property for rent. As an owner, you should budget accordingly. It’s important to offer a clean and habitable rental property to prospective tenants. Not only does this make for happy and loyal tenants, but it also makes for a more attractive rental listing, thus increasing your chances of obtaining higher rents. 

2. Cost of repairs during the course of a tenant’s residency – if a repair is needed, we can facilitate a vendor / contractor (example: a general contractor or electrician), schedule the repair, monitor the progress through completion, and follow up with the vendor. However, the materials & labor (work invoice) expense for such repairs fall under either “owner expenses” (example: “deferred maintenance,” or “a root in the sewer line”) or “tenant expenses” (example: “tenant’s child flushes a doll down the drain causing a blockage”), depending on the terms of the specific Lease Agreement. Depending on the situation, such owner expenses will either be paid directly to the vendor from the owner, or may initially be paid by Absolute Property Management, and then forwarded to the owner and deducted from the net balance due to the owner for that period. 

3. HOA Dues – depending on the terms of the specific Lease Agreement, HOA dues will either be paid by the owner directly to the HOA, or by the tenant. HOA dues are usually paid by the owner.

4. Utilities – most owners choose to structure the Lease Agreement so that tenants are responsible for most or all of the utility expenses. Depending on the location, owners may have to contact one or more utility companies to request that bills be switched to the tenant’s name. We will provide an instruction sheet to owners and to tenants (specific to the location), with the steps to take to switch over utility services.

5. Mello Roos – mello roos are special taxes which are assessed to certain properties, and are in addition to standard property taxes. Mello roos are common with newer properties in newer developments. It is common practice for owners to pay these.

6. Evictions – having good protocols in place, such as A.) screening tenants, B.) offering tenants easy rent payment methods, C.) handling maintenance requests, and D.) offering tenants multiple communication channels (email, phone, text, tenant portals), is a part of our business model, and is a component which we incorporate into our Full Service property management plans. It’s important to note, that while we strive to make property management as easy and as “hands-off” as possible to owners, property management is a team effort. Having open communication between owners and management is key to being able to proactively handle various unique situations as they arise. 

If a tenant is being problematic, violating terms of the Lease, or is not paying their rent, we will work with the owner and the tenant, to try to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution. Depending on the situation, owners may decide not to renew the tenant’s Lease…if that is the case, we will help deliver proper notices to the tenant (example: “Notice of Non-Renewal of Lease” and “60 day notice to vacate.”) However, if it is determined that the Lease Agreement must be ended early and the tenant be evicted, at that point we will refer the owner to a specialized Eviction Attorney / Company. If it is determined that an Eviction Attorney must get involved, we will (based on the direction of the Eviction Attorney), do what we can to help facilitate during the process, until the tenant has vacated the property. Owners are responsible for the payment of eviction fees. Note that total eviction costs can range, depending on the Attorney, however, expect to pay between $2,500 – $5,000. Actual costs will depend on the Eviction Attorney, property type, location, and other factors. 

Once you have signed the Property Management Agreement, the next step is to decide what is needed to get the place “rent ready.” Call us at (530) 636-2779 to schedule a walk-through, where we will take notes and offer suggestions on what (if anything) is needed, in order to get the place rent ready. This could include garbage removal, cleaning, painting, carpeting, or re-keying. Once the place is rent-ready, we will take photos, and advertise the property for rent. Advertising is included as part of our Full-Service property management, and is included with all three Service Plans. 

Once you’ve signed the Property Management Agreement, we will set you up with an Owner Portal through our property management software, “Rentvine.” Note: the Rentvine platform does not allow owners to create their own accounts, so this must be set up on our end. Once your owner account has been set up, a link with your login details will be emailed to you.

We are a Full Service Property Management Company, and can help with tenant placement. If you already have tenants in place, we are able to help with that also. We can take on existing Leases, and even form new Leases with existing tenants. Usually the transition is very simple and straightforward, however, each situation is different, and must be evaluated independently. Note: If you have a tenant in place, and are considering evicting the tenant for non-payment of rent (or other), that is probably not a tenant we will take on…we are not an eviction company. However, if you need an eviction company, there are several eviction companies (attorneys) who can help you evict problematic tenants, at a fee (see above section “What “isn’t” included with Full Service Property Management?” for more information on this).