Introduction for Landlords and Tenants

Unlike many licensed real estate agents, our agents are also residential property managers.  There are many unlicensed property managers in Maryland.  Because of that, we urge a potential landlord and a potential tenant to exercise caution.  There is a lot of fraudulent activity in real estate by unlicensed individuals.  We believe that Maryland law should require that residential property managers be licensed real estate agents.  We provide a wide range of services to a landlord and to a tenant in homes we manage.

There are Many Things We Do for Our Landlords

There is a lot of work and knowledge that is involved to do what we do for our landlords.  It’s not always easy to describe to people all of the services we provide as Realtors.  It was probably best said by Paul Harvey.  He was a conservative American radio broadcaster who reached as many as 24 million people every week from 1952 through 2008 through his various programs.  Check out his entry called “So God Made a Realtor.”  While we are unsure of the video’s origin, we enjoy it and believe that you will, too.

Homeowners have many reasons why they become landlords and rent their properties instead of selling them.  Some of them believe that real estate is a fantastic investment.  We certainly agree with that sentiment and own investment real estate ourselves.  It is a great way of making passive income if you know what you’re doing or hire someone who does.  

There are many other reasons that people rent a home instead of selling.  DMS Properties LLC Residential Real Estate Services is uniquely positioned to provide rental and management services to potential landlords and real estate investors with their housing needs.

Many homeowners have found that they need to relocate, but can’t sell their home.  Others find that investing in real estate is the best use of their money.  If you have tried to get a decent Return on Investment (ROI) at a bank or in the stock market, you know that it has been difficult.  The stock market has had some impressive gains since 2011 or so, but when it falls, it falls hard!  The most recent instance was in March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.  The stock market fell over 25% in less than two weeks and many people sold their holdings at a loss.  Those of us who didn’t panic have done very well.  The same is true with investment real estate.  Something similar is happening in 2022 as inflation increases and housing inventory falls.

A portfolio of real estate holdings is designed to appreciate in a NORMAL market at a rate of between 3% and 5% per year.  This will not only can provide current income from rental receipts, but also appreciation and longer-term capital gains.  You should speak with your investment advisor, tax advisor and attorney if you are interested in real estate investing.  We can help you with the acquisition and management of the properties, though.

We are here to help landlords that find they need to move on from their current home, own investment properties in Maryland, or WANT TO own investment properties in Maryland.  The professional real estate agents and property managers affiliated with DMS Properties LLC Residential Real Estate Services will make the process of buying homes, selling homes, renting homes and managing the homes as painless as possible.

You can learn about all of the various aspects of our residential property management services to a landlord.  We will help you:

• Determine the Return on Investment (ROI) for your property based on the potential income and anticipated expenses.
• Prepare the property for rent so that it shows well and is appealing to potential tenants.  We do this through our Homeowner Concierge Service program.  We have encountered some rental nightmares that are sometimes amusing, but almost always very costly!  We can advise you on what you need to do to make the property ready for rent, but can’t begin to manage it for you without a completed Property Management Agreement.
• Advertise and Market the Home for rent so that we can find qualified tenants as quickly as possible.  We do this mostly through the regional MLS (Bright MLS) to get the home the maximum exposure.
• Process Rental Applications received from potential tenants and screen them to make sure they are a good match for your home. We will manage rental homes for landlords who used a licensed real estate agent from another company to find tenants for the property.  We prefer to do the tenant screening ourselves and use our Lease Document. 
• Execute the Lease Document after qualified tenants are found.  This includes any extensions that are done if the tenants want to continue renting when the original lease term expires.
• Manage the Property after the tenants take possession of the home.  We take care of everything that needs to be done while you’re not living in the property.  

We provide our property management services to a landlord for a flat fee of 8% of the monthly rent.  As a small company with limited overhead, we feel that this is sufficient to cover our costs and still provide quality service to our homeowners and tenants.

When you contact DMS Properties LLC Residential Real Estate Services to manage your property, we will enter into a Property Management Agreement.  We request that you fund a property maintenance account (a maximum of $500) so that money will be on hand to provide any services needed for your property on your behalf.  There are limits to what repairs we will perform for you without getting formal approval.  Your monthly management fee will be deducted from the rent we collect and the balance sent to you.  You’ll receive a monthly statement regarding your account.  We’ll also hold the security deposit provided by a tenant as prescribed by Maryland law.

DMS Properties LLC Residential Real Estate Services can begin to manage the property for you before or during the time when we are searching for qualified tenants.  We’ll handle everything for you so that you can move on to your next destination or concentrate on whatever else is going on in your life.

You can visit our Property Management Document Library to review the forms that will be of interest to both potential landlords and tenants.  We like it when our landlords review the documents and know how we work before the process starts.  It also gives you the chance to think of any questions you want to ask.

There are Many Things We Do for Our Tenants

Once a tenant moves into a home, it is their responsibility to maintain it to the best of their ability.  Tenants are responsible for all utilities.  If there are utilities that are included in a condominium fee paid the owner, then the tenants don’t pay those.  Tenants are also responsible for yard maintenance, minor interior and exterior maintenance and trash removal.  If there are problems with the property, we expect the tenants to notify us immediately so that we can determine the best course of action.

We hope that you find all of this information helpful and believe that the entire process goes more smoothly if you have the information that you need as quickly as possible.  We look forward to working with you!