FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We only have one job: manage your residential rental property.  We do not offer any real estate sales, nor are we licensed to do so. We also do not manage retail, commercial, farmland or HOAs.

We are licenced property managers.  Although we are only required to have one person on our team with a license we have several.

Unlike most property managers we are not licensed as real estate brokers.  We only do one thing and we do it right.   

We are members of the National Association of Residential Property Managers NARPM which is the professional, educational, and ethical leader for the residential property management industry, and association of real estate professionals.

We can get things started as slow or fast as you want but be aware that there are times of the year that are busy and we may need to limit new properties to maintain our excellent service to our  existing clients.

There is a lot of paperwork you need to complete all available on our New Property Paperwork page.  How fast you get that completed and turned in to us is up to you.

There is an initial set up fee of $200 for the first unit ($100 each additional) that covers paperwork, utility set up, initial property review and fees to our software providers.

Management fees are 10% in the incorporated city of Portland and 8% everywhere else. Management fees are only collected when rent is collected. It is important to look at contracts to verify this fee is not charged at other times.

There is a lease up fee, 50% of one month's rent (see below), to find a new tenant, a lease renewal fee, 12.5% of one month's rent (see below) that is any year a tenant stays on. Each unit has an annual accounting charge of $25 billed at the end of each year.

You will also need to fund your maintenance and utility reserve of $500 .  This is not a fee but is used if needed to pay expenses on your property and replenished with the following month's rent.

You will find that we are priced similarly to most of our competition but offer much much more!  Read on!

The leasing fee which is 50% of one month's rent includes professional photography of the property, marketing materials, market rent comps and consultation with the owner on pricing strategy, showing coordination, pre screening before showings, showing with as little as 2 hour request times, comprehensive 20 point applicant screening, pre move-in property review, lease paperwork and signing and initial 3 month property review.  This is paid after a tenant has been placed in the property.  There is more detailed information about these items in the lease section of this FAQ.

Besides keeping the lights on and having us here ready for any sort of emergency that comes up your management fee covers (in no particular order)  Working with HOA's during tenant complaints or violations * Collecting Rents (we offer tenants on-line payment) * Verifying utilites are in tenants name * Managing utilities between tenants * After hours emergency phone hotline * Negotiating with vendors for the best price and fastest response * Resolving complaints * Troubleshooting repair requests with tenants * Creating maintenance work orders and following up on completed work * Scheduling and rescheduling repairs (as often needed) with tenants and contractors * Giving access to online 'owner portal' * Providing your monthly statements (income/expense itemized) * Performing regular property reviews and “drive by” reviews * Providing photos of your property taken during the reviews * Analysis of current rents and making annual recommendations * Keeping up with current tenant/landlord laws to reduce liability concerns * Intimately familiar with court procedures in case of the rare eviction * Recommending preventative maintenance * and much much more.  It takes a large team of people that specialize in parts of the process to make this all happen smoothly.

At least 90 days prior to lease anniversary there will be a property review, rent analysis and communication to the owner to confirm the plan moving forward.

Next will be communication to the tenant inviting them to renew their lease, informing them of any new terms and/or pricing and executing  the necessary paperwork.

All of this is done for a fee of 12.5% of one month's rent.  The property owner either pays the leasing fee when a new tenant is found or this fee when a tenant is staying but not both.

We are not a CPA and cannot give tax advice but many of our clients have found that after deductions for expenses and depreciation of their asset the numbers at the end of the year come out much better than expected.

Have a conversation with your CPA about the advantages of owning rental property.

An empty, repaired and spotlessly clean home always rents faster and gets a better tenant than any other alternative.  Once we have all necessary paperwork, payments and possesion of your home we will complete a thorough property review, complete repairs and get it fully cleaned.  We will start marketing your property after all that is done.

We hire a professional company to take pictures of the properties we advertise.  This always works better than the typical cell phone pictures normally seen in for rent ads.  Usually existing pictures taken by a real estate agent are owned by them and not available for our use but you can always ask their permission for us.

The Portland metro area market has been great recently but there are several variables: the time of year, price, location, market, pet restrictions, condition of property and larger macroeconomic factors. 

We use professionally taken pictures of your property, advertise on over 30 websites, show with only 2 hours notice using a huge pool of available real estate agents, have fast efficient online applications and can even do automated self move ins.  We will get your property rented as fast or faster than anyone in our market.

Using a variety of sources available to us, we compare your home to similar homes of the same size and in the same area. We can provide you with a rent range prior to seeing your home and fine tune it depending on interior trim level, amenities and immediate neighborhood.  This will be done immediately prior to putting it on the market as variables such as neighbors adding or removing their homes to the market and their pricing can make a big difference.  We cannot guarantee any amount of rent for your home as market conditions are always changing.  Be wary of any company that promises a particular rent amount.

We have multiple ways to show your property so that we can find a great tenant fast.

When we get a  request to view a property it is through our automated system that can pair the prospective tenant with either a showing agent available in as little as 2 hours, a self showing, or a 'virtual' showings by having an agent 'walk' the prospect through the home using facetime, Vonage, hangouts or other mobile meeting solution.

Regardless of which option is chosen, for showing agent and property security there is an applicant prescreening process.

We collect anywhere from 1 to 1.5 times the montly rent. Some circumstances will require an additional security deposit (see tenant screening criteria on vacancies page). If you choose to allow pets we require an additional security deposit.

On our website under the homes for rent tab you will find our tenant screening criteria.  We look at credit and criminal reports, verify employment, collect references from prior landlords, verify identification, proof of income and/or assets to insure it meets our criteria. Fair housing laws require us to screen every potential tenant the exact same way which means that owners are not involved in the selection process as they can introduce personal bias.

Experian RentBureau receives updated rental payment history data from property owners/managers, electronic rent payment services and collection companies and makes that information available immediately to the multifamily industry through our resident screening partners

We do not allow smoking of any kind on the property of a Holland Properties managed home.

Some stay on such as electricity, gas, water/sewer so the property can be shown.  Some like cable, internet, alarm systems, and any other optional services get turned off. Find out more on our New Property Paperwork page.

If you just bought the home that we will be managing as a rental for you then as soon as you get the paperwork in to us we can set up the utilities on your behalf with you as the owner and us as the billing manager saving the double work of you doing the set up as well.

There are a variety of situations.  In general tenants pay for utilities when they are living in the home, but there are some duplexes where the owner may pay the water/sewer if combined.  There also may be situations where an HOA provides garbage, internet or other services and the city of Portland requires owners to pay garbage.

You can note this information on the property forms when onboarding your property. We can place a flat fee for utilities on a property that the owner pays for.  We do not split utilities between tenants.

Tenants are required to have a liability policy with a minimum of $100,000 in coverage.  We are required to be listed as addional named insured on their policy so that we will be notified of changes or cancellation of the policy.  

You will need a landlord policy.  Unlike homeowners insurance a landlord policy is a type of business policy and should cover loss of rents (verify with the company).

Many insurance companies will give you a discount for hiring a property manager so make sure to ask them.

We have a business policy that covers all the types of work that we do with appropriate coverage.  We also carry an Errors and Omissions policy to cover those circumstances.

Our policy does not cover some items such as working on roofs, in confined spaces, electrical, plumbing or other specialty trades.  For those jobs we hire specialists that will do the best job for you and have the appropriate insurance coverage for those types of work.

Yes and we make sure they are licensed and registered in the state of Oregon while we're at it.  We can use your vendor as well if you have a favorite and we'll run the same checks on them too.

We are not licensed property inspectors for the state of Oregon.  There are virtually no property managers that are.  We perform periodic property reviews of your investment property to give you a good idea of its condition in the habitable space and easily visible exterior. 

If you want a more thorough inspection of foundations, roofs, mechanical such as HVAC, plumbing or electrical we can coordinate with the appropriate vendor.

We perform the first property review approximately 3 months after new tenants move in and follow up again 5 months later. If the first 2 were “good” to “excellent” we will begin annual reviews. If any issues were found during either of the first 2, the review schedule is compressed until the problems have been resolved. “Drive by” reviews occur more often. We also speak with our repair contractors to ask about general conditions, if repairs have been required.

We look for cosmetic problems, basic safety problems or minor maintenance items that need attention.  When a tenant is in the home we also verify that they are treating the home well.

If there are specific items in your home that need to be looked at you would be best served by requesting a specialist to be called in.

For example we can see from the ground if your roof may need a demossing treatment but we can not go on the roof and give an expert opinion on the roof life that is a job for a roofing professional.  We may notice a crack in the drywall of an interior wall but we are not concrete contractors able to give you a thorough evaluation of your foundation to establish if that is the reason for the crack in the wall. 

During an review we take pictures and write up a report in our property management software.  Once complete you will be notified with an email and a link that the report is available to view through your owner portal along with all the pictures.

Our schedule is industry leading in both frequency and thoroughness.  While it would be best practice to not impose on the tenants' privacy more than we already do if you want additional reviews they can be arranged.

Since this falls outside the normal scope of our property management services we can facilitate this for the owner for $115 per occurance.  If entry is needed for another reason see the section below about access.

Sometimes someone may need to enter the home to complete a service for the owner such as refinancing a loan, an insurance inspection, home warranty (builder) inspection, or anything related to selling the property.

While this is outside the normal scope of property management services we can facilitate this for the owner.  At no time should the owner let themselves or others into the home without our knowledge and permission.

We will send a notice to the tenant and coordinate with the service provider and the tenant so they can have access to the property.  There will be a charge of $25 for each notice that needs to be sent.
If the timeframe is too short to allow for mailing the notice we will charge our standard handyman rate for posting the notice.

If the tenant is not available to be present when a third party needs to enter the home we will have a team member present to allow entry and an hourly charge equivalent to our current handyman rate for any time we are at the property will be applied.

Maintenance requests can come from tenants through the use of their online mobile app, website contact forms, emails or phone calls.  When applicable tenants should submit pictures of the issue and include them as well.

We will troubleshoot over the phone to try to save the charge for a service call and we make sure the tenants are aware that any tenant caused problems will be charged back to them.

We use in-house maintenance for a variety of smaller tasks such as minor repairs, changing out smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors, etc. For bigger, more involved tasks we use licensed, insured and bonded contractors that give competitive pricing and discounts due to the volume of work they get. 

If something under the maintenance reserve amount needs service, we dispatch the appropriate licensed, bonded and insured contractor or our maintenance techs as soon as possible. If it appears to be over the limit we will discuss it further with you. Sometimes a replacement is wiser than repair. Invoices for completed work will be available in your owner portal.

$500 is held in a maintenance reserve to cover small repairs, cleaning, utility bills etc.  That is also the limit for getting the property owner involved when a maintenance item is identified. When there is an approval for more expensive work a hold on funds over the reserve amount will be made.

As soon as we get a maintenance request a work order is created and we notify you via email. We will either move forward with a solution right away or if the amount of the repair is likely to exceed the maintenance reserve, or we need clarification on a matter, we will reach out to you directly.

Capital improvement projects such as kitchen cabinets, countertops, flooring, or roofing can be handled by us although they fall outside the normal scope of property management services.

As we are basically acting as a general contractor managing multiple bids, materials, contractors, and schedules while making sure the project goes smoothly there will be a standard markup of 10% (minimum $300).

Holland Properties will work with you to take care of appliances or home systems that are still under manufacture warranty.  This includes whole house warranties by the builder.

This is not the same as a 'home warranty" which is an aftermarket service contract, see the following question.

On occasion access to the home will have to be coordinated for a 3rd party vendor.  In those cases there will be a charge of the standard handyman rate for the time needed to have a tech at the property.  When possible arrangements for the tenant to be home will be made.

Home warranty companies (aftermarket service contracts for fixing appliances) are OK when a homeowner lives in a home but are difficult to work with and  rarely get things taken care of within the legal timelines required when a tenant occupies a home. Also if a tenant can not be home when the warranty company schedules a repair you will also need to pay for Holland Properties to send a tech to let them in.

These are not manufacturers (or builders) warranties (see prior question).

We do not work with home warrany companies for repairs. Please see a more complete discussion of this subject on our blog.

Holland Properties is always looking for great vendors that are licensed and insured to do business in the state of Oregon.  Holland Properties will manage them and work with them on billing and to verify the job was completed correctly.  Visit the Vendor Info Page for more information on what is required of vendors.

Yes, on the property form you will complete during onboarding there is a section where you can check off common annual maintenance items such as gutter cleaning, roof demossing, pressure washing hard surfaces, dryer vent cleaning, chimney cleaning etc.  You can also write in other items that you may have in your home.

Most property owners assign landscape maintenance as the responsibility of the tenant.  Between tenants the owner can do it themselves or we can manage it and bill the owner.

If there is an emergency at the property we will move forward with stabilizing the problem and fixing it.  We are not required to give the tenant 24 hour notice to enter or get preaproval with the owner for repairs.  We will of course reach out as soon as practical.  For larger repairs and rehab please visit the webpage titled Property Restoration.

Yes you or the contractor of your choice can perform repairs while the property is vacant.  Please submit pictures of all completed work or we can reinspect, at your cost, to verify correct completion.  Usually it is easier for you to give us your contractors info and we will manage them directly saving you time.  Direct your contractors to our vendor webpage.

Yes it is the responsibility of tenants to change light bulbs and filters while they are residing in a home.  In some cases tenants can not access air filters if they are in the attic, crawl space  or high on walls,  light bulbs in vaulted ceilings or chandeliers may be too high as well.  In this case we perform the work and bill the owner.

It is your property and therefore you get to pick, however, since the majority of tenants have pets, in order to rent your property more quickly we recommend allowing them.  Tenants with pets tend to stay longer in a property since it is harder for them to move, further increasing the reason why you should allow pets in your property.

We use a service called PetScreening.com which is fantastic.  In the pet screening process, they look at data points that focus on the "ABCs" (Affirmations, Behavioral, and Compatibility) of each pet and pet owner. The pet owner submits a pet application along with a final legal attestation to confirm validity. A Pet Profile is generated that includes name, breed, weight, sex, age, pictures, vaccination information, micro-chip data, and behavioral information.

Holland Properties complies with all Fair Housing Laws. A service or companion animal is not considered a pet and must be allowed if the tenant provides proper documentation for the animal and otherwise meets the screening criteria. No additional security deposit can be charged for a service or companion animal.

Security deposits cover all damage to a home not just from the human occupants.  Tenants are required to pay for repairs over and above normal wear and tear no matter how they are caused.

Holland Properties, Inc. understands that as an investment property owner you do not want financial surprises.  That is why we offer a Pet Guarantee to our property owners.

Rent is due on the 1st and late midnight on the 5th. We will quickly be in contact with the tenants to determine if something has happened to the payment. If by the 8th the tenant has not paid, we will send a 30-day termination notice with 14 days to submit payment in full. If the tenant fails to pay, we will file the necessary court paperwork, attend court to obtain the eviction, and follow through with removing the tenant if necessary. Please note with Oregon law changes from 2023, we are required to stop all eviction proceedings if the tenant pays the full amount of past-due rent. Once payment is received, the eviction will be officially dismissed. The property owner bears all eviction filing and court expenses, which is why we offer an Eviction Protection Plan.

Large losses are the exception but we will be able to help with them.  Please see the page under the owner's tab named property restoration for more detail on how we will work together to get your property back to earning income. 

We are unique in the industry, one of our employees comes from the collections industry and does a great job of collecting bad debts.  While most property managers will send the debt to a collections company that will get poor if any results, at a large fee if they do, we can frequently get all your money back for you.