Client Resources

We specialize in Single-Family homes, Town Homes and Condominiums.

We don't manage duplex, 4-plex properties or small condominiums with less than 2 bedrooms. We don't manage commercial properties. We don't manage homes with chronic repair issues or conditions that might adversely affect the health or safety of an ordinary tenant. An example would be a home with a rotted 2nd story deck that an owner "can't afford" to properly repair.

Yes, We are licensed REALTORS®. We are members of:

• Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS^®
• Virginia Association of REALTORS^®
• National Association of REALTORS^®
• Northern Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Property Managers
• National Association of Property Managers

Renting homes is a merchandising rather than a selling effort. Many tenants find their homes by scrutinizing online information and pictures, the appearance of properties when they visit them and the ability to work with a reputable Management Company during their tenancy. We also acquire tenants through the Multiple Listing Service, Internet web searches, other Real Estate Rental Specialists, Military Housing Office, relocation networks, relocation companies, government organizations, diplomatic networks, and referrals from satisfied clients.

<ul>
<li><strong>WORD OF MOUTH / REFERRALS </strong>- We regularly receive referrals from our current and past tenants, friends of our tenants, and from other Broker's agents.</li>
<li><strong>INTERNET LISTINGS</strong> - We have developed a web page, which provides information on rental homes to families that are planning to relocate into the Northern Virginia and Washington, DC area. Our properties are posted online through our MRIS (MLS) and the top 75+ searched rental websites on the internet.</li>
<li><strong>LEASING LOCATORS</strong> - We make all of our listings available to all the top internet websites, our Real Estate Rental Specialist Network, websites searched by active duty military, relocation networks and unique real offerings.</li>
<li><strong>CORRECT PRICING</strong> - Even the best properties will not lease quickly if overpriced. We analyze the market to be certain your home is priced according to current market conditions. </li>
<li><strong>THOROUGH PREPARATION</strong> - The most desirable properties, priced well, will not lease quickly if they are not in top condition. Properties must show well and have "curb appeal". We make sure your property is presented in a clean and attractive condition so that it will catch the attention of a good, qualified tenant.</li>
<li><strong>WE SHOW YOUR PROPERTY THROUGH REALTORS^®</strong> - We have created working relationships with area REALTORS^® who have identified themselves as Rental Specialists. This professional network helps us show and lease our properties.</li>
</ul>

This is one of the most important aspects of the successful management of rental property. We look at an applicant's past behavior and assume their future behavior will be the same. An applicant must demonstrate a history of being a good, responsible tenant as well as meeting our financial criteria.

• APPLICATION - After a prospective tenant has been shown a property and has expressed a desire to lease it, our Rental Application must be submitted. We require several supporting documents along with the application to help us verify information included on the application. They also must pay an application fee as part of the application.
• SCREENING - We utilize our software credit, background, eviction and criminal screening services as well as our own efforts to collect information needed to confirm and process the application.
• LANDLORD VERIFICATIONS – We utilize public information, tax records and other research and verification.
• SCORED RETAIL CREDIT REPORTS –Tells us the applicant's current and past performance in meeting their financial obligations. It also tells us their monthly debt and shows their previous addresses (which we compare to addresses listed on the application). An applicant must have acceptable credit to qualify.
• EMPLOYMENT / INCOME VERIFICATIONS - We verify job title, job status, salary and prospects for continued employment. An applicant needs to earn at least 3 to 4 times the monthly rent in gross income to qualify for rental.
• EVICTION & CRIMINAL REPORTS – This additional application screening process helps provide us with criminal background checks. This is a level of scrutiny that most other property management companies do not perform.

If accepted, the applicant's in-processing includes a lease, lease signing, collecting pro-rated rent, and providing the tenants with a copy of any association documents needed for disclosure and instruction on rules and regulations associated with the property and community.

All leases are in writing and normally cover a period of one or two years. Longer leases are approved after discussion with the property owner. With the owner's approval, during slower rental periods, we accept leases for less than one year in order to have the lease expire during a more active rental period. On occasion we may elect to place a tenant on a month to month or 6 month rental lease to accommodate sale of the property by the owner, a tenant's pending departure, or moving the property into a more active rental period.

First, careful tenant selection protects your property from being rented to unqualified people. During the lease term, we may have occasion to enter the property for repair or maintenance reasons and will use that opportunity to examine the property.

In addition, we will generally schedule a 6-9 month annual property survey walk-through to see how the tenants are maintaining the property. We make sure the air filter is being changed, that the smoke alarms have batteries and that there are no unreported problems at the property.

We will also schedule a renewal survey when the tenant renews the lease. This protects both you and your property. The right for us to make routine inspections of the property is part of the lease agreement.

We give them an opportunity to correct the situation, and usually they will. If a problem persists, we will make a decision based on that specific situation.

If payment has not been made by the day after the rent is due, we send a late notice. We also send another late notice on the 6th - 7th day of the month. On the 10th of the month we order a sheriff delivery of a notice of non-compliance (eviction notice). Whether or not we eventually have to proceed with a formal eviction depends on the specific circumstances. It is usually financially better, for all involved, if a solution can be worked out. If the tenant has experienced a one-time event which caused them a financial hardship, and we have had no previous problems with them, we will normally give them a chance to catch up, if there is reason to believe they can do so. If the tenant has demonstrated an ongoing pattern of late payments, broken promises and/or evasiveness, eviction is usually the best course of action.

Each case is unique, and we make our decisions based on what is best for you and the property in the long run. We always proceed with the legal notices required for eviction regardless of any other factors. We will simply postpone the actual filing of the eviction if the tenant is showing favorable effort toward resolution. Evictions can be a simple matter or more complex depending on the tenant cooperation. We retain an attorney to issue non-compliance notices and coordinate the eviction process to ensure it is done correctly and with proper professional representation on the Landlords behalf.

We believe that you hire a property manager to manage the property for you, not to assist you in managing it yourself. We offer a turnkey style of property management service which is most appreciated by those property owners who prefer to be "out of the loop" on all but the most important matters related to the management and leasing of the property. We don't pester you with small details, questions, information or "updates" about your property or tenants, except for those matters which will have a significant impact on your monthly cash flow. Instead, we simply take care of the things you have entrusted us to handle on your behalf.

We do however provide you an email notice for each maintenance dispatches to help account for expenses for the property during the month and also to inform you if there may a repair we will need your authorization to complete over our authorized amount.

Under your system of property management, how informed then will I be about what's going on with my property?" tag="h3" trigclass="space-collapse-title"]
Our general rule of thumb is this; if something has happened, or is about to happen, that will disrupt your ordinary monthly cash proceeds by more than $500 per repair not total invoice; we will get your approval to complete the repair. An example would be that we receive a 60-day notice from your tenant, and therefore a turnover, along with related expenses, is pending and we want you to be informed and prepared for it. Another example would be that your A/C unit has failed during the middle of a hot summer; we have determined that the 12 year old compressor needs replacing and have initiated the work to replace it. We will call to let you know what has happened and the expected financial impact on the following month's statement.

Aside from any special considerations unique to you or your property, our rule of thumb is this: If something may cause a potential interruption in your ordinary cash flow (loss of tenant or major repair), we will let you know about it right away. Otherwise non-emergency items will be notated in your monthly statements. Of course, we encourage you to contact us anytime you have a question or wish to discuss something. If you are a worrisome owner that wants to be informed of every little thing, our style of management is probably not for you.

Tenants are required to submit all non-emergency maintenance repairs though their online account. Call us for emergencies. We have a rotational staff schedule in addition to a 24 hour answering service that will contact us after hours. After receiving a repair request, we will contact the tenant and ask them questions in order to help us determine the exact nature of the problem before sending a service technician. We make sure it is not something the tenant can fix themselves (ex: reset button on the disposal, tripped breaker etc.) before your money is spent on a service call. After determining that it is a legitimate problem, we will send the appropriate service vendor to make the repair. We tell our tenants that we are able to handle most repair requests within 1 to 3 working days, and, in fact, are usually able to do so. Comfort items such as air conditioning, no hot water or heat, receive highest priority and are usually attended to the same or next business day.

We do not! They are competitive in price, competency and reliability. We have access to "all-around" maintenance technicians who are skilled in a wide range of home repairs including air-conditioning, light plumbing and electrical. We save our owners money by using general technicians for the majority of multi-trade and make-ready tasks. Another benefit of using these technicians is the opportunity for checking out the general condition of the property - something that a single trade vendor will not do for you.

We require a $500 reserve per property in your account so that there are always funds to pay the vendors quickly. We also require you deposit to us through your online account all funds needed to complete repairs if we do not have enough funds available in your account to pay for the entire invoice. We always will work with you pay the contractor directly via any method of payment they accept to help you control your cash flow from the property.

This is the greatest fear of most new owners. We promise in writing not to do that. Ordinary maintenance and repairs of less than $500 are paid out of your account, and you will see this in your monthly statement. If we think a repair might exceed $500 and if we are unable to reach you, we may initiate repair work even if it is higher than $500 as stated in the management agreement; for the following cases: (1) the health or safety of a tenant is an issue; (2) the property will incur damage if immediate action is not taken, (3) In instances where there is only one option to consider. We will not leave a tenant waiting in 90+-degree heat without A/C or without hot water, or a leaking roof while we try to contact you for permission to do the obvious.

Sometimes an owner will complain that we spent $585 (for example) when it was not an emergency. The simple explanation for this is that the company that went to the property charged a $85 service call (for example) to go out to the property whether they fixed anything or not. Therefore, instead of having the owner incur a $85 service call just for us to get an estimate and then having to send the company back out to do the repair and the owner having to incur another $85 service call, the owner saved $85 by having the repair done the first time.
We always tell the maintenance companies to alert us if the repair is going to be over $500 or a specific amount depending the type of service dispatch. Sometimes the maintenance company may think that the repair will not go over $500, but after they get working on the repair, they find that there is more to fix than they could see before they started the job. It would not make good sense and it could be a safety issue if the company had to leave an air conditioner or dishwasher, etc. torn apart while we waited for your permission to ok the additional $50.00 (for example) and then the maintenance company could charge another trip charge on top of the extra money for the repairs. This would not be in your (the owners) best interest.

Peabody passes any discounts or coupons that contractors accept to the owner.

No, we only use our qualified vendors. We are not able for liability reasons to use your friends or relatives to perform work on your home unless they are in fact licensed vendors (see below).

We will be happy to invite them to join our vendor list if they are qualified and insured, but we cannot promise that a specific vendor will be dispatched to your home for certain repairs. We already have a stable of very qualified and reasonably priced vendors that we have used for many years. If a company you prefer wants to be added to our vendor list, they can contact us and we will interview them and let them know what documentation and references we need. However, we cannot guarantee that your favorite company will be sent on all service calls to your property. Our concern is always to resolve repair problems in the timeliest way possible with the best available vendor at the time. We cannot keep track of a pre-established roster of which vendors are assigned to certain properties - it would be very cumbersome and inefficient and would not achieve the best service to you, the tenant, or your property.

Our professional reputation, with both tenants and owners, is largely, if not entirely, determined by how well we handle maintenance. Therefore, we follow a practice that is most likely to insure the best possible response and resolution to problems.

We prefer that the owners do not use a Home Warranty Company to make repairs at their rental property.

There is a HUGE problem in the home warranty industry, and the public is becoming savvy to it.
Try searching Google with the name of your favorite home warranty company and the word `complaints' or `fraud'. You will be amazed. Find out how many people feel like they got burned, turned down wrongfully, or got seriously bad service. Furthermore, feel free to visit www.my3cents.com for even more examples of this currently growing problem; THERE ARE MANY OTHERS.....

Warranties are typically purchased by home sellers or their real estate agents to avoid lawsuits if something breaks in the first year. Not to be confused with a builder's warranty, a so-called home warranty -- Actually a service contract -- is typically purchased for existing homes, especially homes sold by real estate agents. These service contracts generally cost $400 to $600 for a year-long basic-coverage plan that includes items like ceiling fans, water heaters and furnaces.

The contracts come with loopholes. You need to carefully read your service agreement to determine what is and what isn't covered. Coverage for plumbing, for example, typically ends at your home's foundation, so leaks or breakages beyond that would be your responsibility. "Pre-existing" problems typically aren't covered, nor are breakdowns that result from poor maintenance or improper installation. The contract also may require that a system be upgraded to current building code standards -- at the homeowner’s expense -- before they agree to consider repairs. People who have had problems with the home warranty companies say that the more expensive the repair or replacement, the more likely home warranty companies are to invoke these exclusion clauses.

You don't have control over who does the work. The home warranty provider contracts with local service companies to perform the actual inspections and repairs. You don't get to choose, and scheduling repairs can sometimes be a trial. The service technician may also try to sell you unneeded services.

We have had hundreds of problems with home warranties.

Tenants have more rights now than they ever have had in the past and Judges are normally on the side of the tenants and if repairs are not made timely, owners can find themselves on the wrong side of the legal system. It is hard enough to try to use a home warranty on the home that you live in. It is not cost effective or practical to use a home warranty on a rental property.

We will not use any existing Home Warranty Company for "first responder" service calls to the property, under any circumstance. Covered items that need replacing will be run through the Home Warranty Company only after an initial determination is made that replacement may be necessary.

If you are trying to sell a house, a home warranty can give buyers some peace of mind and may reduce the chances of your being sued should an appliance or system break down after the sale. We can discuss this if you choose to have us help you sell the property and benefits at that time as they relate to marketing the property for sale.

We CANNOT manage your home with a pool and / or spa, but we will be happy to suggest other companies who may be able to manage your property.

Frequently, I get asked why owners have to wait so long to get their rent proceeds when rent is due on the 1st of the month. I think that it is a good question and I would like to take a moment to answer it! Yes, our lease agreement states that the rent is due on the 1st of the month.

Payments take up to 5 business days to clear and then we have accounting to complete associated with your property and expenses for the current and previous month. This take us a few days so we commit to sending out funds to you on the 10th of the month or the following business day if the rent is received on time. If the rent is paid late we will follow up with you on the expected date to schedule the direct deposit to you.

We create and post the monthly statement for your property the date we issue our disbursements.

We process statements and rent proceeds between the 7th and 10th of each month. You should receive your statement and rent proceeds will be issued no later than the 10th or following business day providing the property is occupied and the rent has been paid on time.

Disbursements are made by ACH direct deposit into the owners' accounts and statements are posted normally the same day.

When we send out the ACH payments the banks take two to five business days to process the payments. Payments to Owners who had late rents (received after 5th and before the 15th) are processed between the 18th and 22nd of the month. Late payments received after the 15th of the month are processed the following month.

If you have not received your statement and rental proceeds by the 10th of the month or the following business day, please email us at Info@PeabodyResidential.com. We will happily follow up with you and provide you a status update on the rent collection and answer any additional questions you may have.

Yes! We only send funds via ACH direct deposit. You can provide us your bank information for deposit through your online account and update it as it changes without delay to ensure we have the correct bank information for the deposit.

We will pay final utility bills, interim utility bills, service contract bills, repair bills, and all other invoices associated with the leasing and management of the property. We do require that owners pay their mortgage, taxes, insurance and HOA bills directly.

Owners pay bills associated with ownership of the property and we pay bills associated with the management of the property.

There must be sufficient cash flow from the property to cover such expenses, and sometimes we must set up an additional reserve fund for this purpose, which will allow us to make prompt payment for you without waiting for the rent to arrive.

Statements includes all income and expenses for the accounting periods. We request that any unpaid balance be brought current immediately.

Our management fee is a percent of the monthly rent depending on the size, location, and number of properties. There is no monthly fee if the property is vacant.

In order to have our managements competitive in the rental market our leasing fee is 100% of the first month's rent for new tenants. We pay a portion of that leasing fee to a cooperating Broker that rents the property.

We list our rental properties in the Multiple Listing Service, which is accessed by several thousand real estate agents. This greatly helps minimize the vacancy time of your property on the rental market.

Our fees are very competitive, and therefore are not negotiable. We realize you can find a cheaper property manager, but price should not be the determining factor in deciding whom you hire to manage your property. The ultimate cost of using a property manager is determined by many things other than the fee we charge, namely, the efficiency and manner in which we handle problems. We feel that our services, our systems, and the experience and expertise we offer are a very great value at the fee structure we have established.

There is a $200 start-up fee. We do not charge owners for any technology costs like Ach direct deposit fees, tenant direct deposit fees, online statement publishing and the start-up covers the actual costs of our technology for 12 months and then we absorb them after that.

We do not charge clients for long distance calls or mileage. The only other expenses you should incur would be for services which fall outside the normal scope of our Management Agreement and for duplication of services.

Here are some examples that fall outside of normal management service:

• Example 1: When we coordinate a repair over $2,000. This will normally require us to obtain multiple estimates, coordinate approval of the estimate along with payment for the contractor, coordination and additional follow up with the tenant and the contractor, confirmation of the work being completed and any issues that may arise from quality control with the tenant experience, collection of the final invoice and confirmation of the work completion to include before and after pictures.
• Example 2:Insurance claims. We have to coordinate with the insurance company and normally work with their contract which includes many of the additional steps in Example 1.
• Example 3:Mold remediation or building compliance. These are both immediate issues that need to be resolved and done with significant work to ensure full compliance with the law. They require specific licenses to complete the work and then follow up confirmation of full remediation or compliance.

Owners often ask us to do things that are outside our normal management services, and we try to accommodate our owners whenever possible.

Yes! We have a clause in our agreement that provides us the ability to help you sell your home if you choose to work with us. We have an excellent track record of selling homes in less time than the industry average for more money than the industry average. We can help with all repairs and contract term requirements to make the process smooth and easy for you. We have an extensive marketing network and campaign and can coordinate the entire sale without you having to be present during any of it, including settlement. We make selling your home or asset an easy process.

We only sell homes for our contract clients! This ensures we focus 100% on our clients.

No. We use a contract that includes standard terms from our association locally and provide by the state along with additional terms to ensure we can comprehensively service your property. It is an elective contract with a 60 day cancellation at any time and we maintain our Service Guarantee throughout the time we work with you.

If you are currently holding your current tenant's deposit, you should send it to us at the time we take over management of the property. Any new deposits that we receive are held in our deposit trust account.

We stay within the norms allowed by the state or jurisdiction the property is located in. The maximum total deposit we can hold is equal to 2 months of rent. We normally hold the equivalent of 1 month of rent and may increase it depending on the tenant application and pets that will be associated with the lease.

Responsible tenants are valuable assets to both of us. A satisfied tenant can bring us referral business and will be more inclined to care for your property as if it was their own. As the owner of the property, it is best that you avoid direct communication with the tenant and refer all inquiries to our office. We maintain a diplomatic relationship, between you and your tenant, through personal contact and in the form of our Property Survey Reports and announcements.

Yes. In fact, we recommend owners view their property at least once every year or two years. Owners should give Peabody Residential at least a four to five day notice, so we can make arrangements with the tenants. Often the trip to view your property is tax deductible! Please check with your tax preparer.

We can start the process immediately. Contact us so we can find out more about you and your property and see if we would be a good match for your wants and expectations. Please contact us if you have other questions or wish to discuss letting us handle your property.