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Am I required to make my property available to Section 8?
No, currently in Florida the acceptable source of a tenant’s income may exclude Section 8 vouchers. This is up to each owner to determine whether or not to accept a Section 8 voucher for all or part of the rent.
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Are you licensed?
Yes, advertising and leasing property in Florida for a third party requires an active real estate license.
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Can I reach you after hours?
Yes, our emergency maintenance line is answered 24/7 by a person qualified to triage an emergency situation need.
Our Property Managers and support staff are available during normal business hours, but will respond to emergency needs after hours.
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Can you put the money directly into my account?
Yes, We offer Free ACH transfer from our bank to another U.S. Bank. We cannot transfer to foreign banks.
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Do I get to see the lease or sign it?
The lease will be signed by your property manager when your Power of Attorney is completed and notarized on the listing contract. A copy of the fully executed lease will be visible to you from your owner portal documents.
Having the Broker’s agent sign the lease allows for a speedier move-in process for the tenant and for owner to begin receiving rent proceeds.
If you choose not to give Power of Attorney, we will need to send the lease to you via an electronic email signature service. Each Owner of Record must sign the lease and will receive a separate email signature request.
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Do you sell real estate too?
Yes, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Properties Group is a full service real estate broker. We work with the owner when he wishes to sell his investment property or buy more. We also work with tenants who wish to buy homes at the end of their lease term.
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How and when do I get my checks?
We disburse rent proceeds to owners every Tuesday and Thursday for all owners whose tenant’s rent has cleared through broker’s bank. This way if your tenant should pay late, you are not waiting until the next month for your distribution.
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How is rent collection handled?
We offer 5 options to tenants to pay rent:
- Mail payment
- Online Portal payment
- Credit Card payment through Paylease
- Cash Payment through “Cash Near Me” at 7-11 Stores
- Physical drop off of rent check at our central accounting office in Trinity
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How long of a lease do you sign?
We prefer to sign leases for one year periods. Any longer lease period requires two witnesses for every signature on the lease and are difficult to enforce should the tenant default. We strongly recommend due to our Attorney’s advice that owners lease one year at a time. You may have a difficult tenant that first year and wish to terminate the lease after one year, but if the lease is for multiple years, you have to wait until that full lease period is over.
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How much security deposit do you charge the tenant?
The Amount of Security Deposit may be set by the owner in our listing contract. Mostly we see the amount of one month rent being the usual. Sometimes it is bit less or more depending on the owner’s desire for risk management. If a tenant’s screening results do not meet our company’s criteria for acceptance, an owner may elect to raise the security or take a last month in escrow along with the security. Owner will be contacted to determine how to proceed with an applicant if the screening results are below our criteria for residency.
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How soon can you start managing my property?
We begin management when the contract is signed and the initial set up fee is received from the owner. The home may be advertised only after our property manager has seen the property and determined if it rent ready. Owners should be prepared for make ready costs to attract quality tenants.
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What type of properties do you manage?
We manage all types of residential residences. Single Family homes make up the majority of our portfolio but we have condos, townhomes, villas, apartments and even mobile homes under management.
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What type of reports do I get and how often?
We publish to the owner portal and email a monthly statement on the first day of each month for the full previous month. Additionally, an owner may access live portal reports on invoice transactions which take place between monthly statements and also a live time rent payment record.
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Who holds the tenant security deposit?
For Managed rental properties, the broker holds the security deposit in their trust account. Broker is responsible for timely claim and distribution of security funds at end of lease for managed properties under Chapter 83 Florida statutes. If the Owner self manages, the owner must hold the security in a separate Florida banking institution for the benefit of the tenant and must pay tenant either 75% of actual annual interest earned or 5% per year simple interest whichever landlord elects. The owner may also choose to post a surety bond as defined in Chapter 83.49 FL Statutes.
