Black Bear Rentals, Inc. 56 Central Avenue, Suite 205 Asheville, NC 28801 828-712-3075 blackbearrentals@gmail.com Frequently Asked Questions for Owners 1. I am interested in Black Bear Rentals, Inc. managing my home. What is the process? Please set up a time to meet with our team. Call us at 828-712-3075 or email us at blackbearrentals@gmail.com When we meet with you we will prepare a Property Management Agreement, Landlord Checklist, and Landlord ACH and Tax Letter. We will also schedule a time to take photos of your home for advertising and obtain a key for showing your property to potential tenants. We can also handle this through e-mail and phone calls if you are currently living elsewhere. 2.What does it cost to get started? We collect a $200 admin/marketing fee before we begin to advertise. That amount is due when the property management documents are signed. 3. What is the Landlord Checklist? What is the Landlord ACH and Tax Letter? The Landlord Checklist refers to information regarding your home that we may use for advertising, maintenance, etc. It may include heat systems, what kind of hot water heater (gas/electric) is in the house, your preferred vendors and any special instructions relating to your house. The Landlord ACH and Tax letter provide information so that we may remit payments directly to your bank account and determines how your income is reported to the IRS. Tax reporting: Our CPA prepares 1099 s for each owner according to the initial instructions regarding how rent proceeds are to be distributed. Black Bear Rentals, Inc. must report the GROSS income received. That is the full amount of rent received each month. We must report income in the month that we received it on your behalf. If we receive January rent in December, it will show as income for the year in which we received it. Any fees (commissions) or invoices paid from the proceeds may be deductible for tax purposes. But these will not be reflected on the 1099.
You should receive a 1099 by Jan. 30 of each year. *Please look these over to make sure that there are no errors. If you suspect an error, please let us know right away so that we may make the correction before the 1099 is reported to the IRS in Feb. *You will also receive a cash flow statement for the year 4. What is the Owner Portal? The owner portal is accessed through our website, www.blackbearwnc.com. It allows you online access in order to see the financial details of your account at any time. You can see when a check was deposited and when (and to whom) money has been distributed. 5. How will my home be advertised? We advertise on our website (www.blackbearwnc.com), www.ashevillerent.com, and www.craigslist.com. Our ads are picked up by various secondary websites, such as Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Apartment Finders, etc. If you prefer, we can also put a sign in the yard. 6. Will the prospective tenants have a background check done? Yes, we require tenants to fill out an online application and pay $35. This application gives us rental and financial information, and allows us to conduct a credit check and a background check. 7. Will there be deposits and/or pet deposits held for my home? We collect a security deposit, which is held in an escrow account at BB&T in Asheville, NC. We will collect a pet deposit (refundable) if you are going to allow pets. 8. What are Black Bear Rentals, Inc. requirements before a tenant moves in? All paperwork (rental agreement and addendums) must be signed and returned, security (and pet) deposits paid, rent paid, and utilities must be transferred to their name before we release the keys. We have each property professionally cleaned before each tenant moves in at the owner's expense. If one tenant is moving out and a new tenant is moving in, tenants receive a tenant's move out procedures form that explains they are required to clean the property before they move out. North Carolina General Statutes prohibit owners/landlords from charging cleaning fees, except for cleaning that is considered above and beyond normal wear and tear. As this is somewhat vague, we require that owners pay for the first $100 of cleaning (which is equivalent to approximately 3 hours of cleaning) and hold tenants responsible for any amount above that. Other expenses that may be necessary for owners are cleaning carpets, gutters, yard cleanup and painting. We access each property on a case by case basis and charge tenants as the law allows. 9. What is a tenant move in checklist? This is an opportunity for tenants to note anything about the property that they do not want to be held responsible for at the end of the lease term (stains on carpets or marks on walls, etc.). We encourage tenants to fill this out and return it within 10 days, but they often do not. When they give notice of intention to move out, we return this form to them.
10. Will I get reimbursed for my oil/propane? We measure fuel (oil/propane) at the beginning of the tenancy and expect the tenants to leave approximately the same amount at the end of their tenancy. This expectation is written into the lease agreement, stated in the New Tenant Procedures form, and again in the Move Out Procedures (MOP) that we send to tenants who have given notice to move out. We measure again when they move out and collect the appropriate amount due (for fuel) from the outgoing tenant as needed. 11. What appliances am I required to fix if they break? The rule of thumb is that if you provide it, you are responsible for it. However, if the repair is determined to be due to obvious misuse by the tenant, we can charge them for the repair. 12. If I require the tenants to take care of yard maintenance how will I be sure this is done? We put this requirement into the rental agreement. We then remind tenants of their responsibilities in a quarterly letter. If there is a problem, we have a Notice Letter giving 5 days to correct the problem and informing the tenant that we will have it taken care of at their expense after 5 days. We then add that amount to their account. (We cannot force a tenant to fulfill their responsibilities. We can tell them, give them notice to cure the problem, charge them and eventually take the cost from their security deposit.) 13. What if there are maintenance issues once the renters move in? We encourage tenants to use their online tenant portal to make maintenance requests. Some also email us blackbearrentals@gmail.com. This gives us a record of the request and allows us to keep you informed. When a tenant reports a maintenance issue, we make an assessment as to who might be best to address the problem (ie. handyman, plumber, electrician, roofer, etc.) We contact owners, either by email or phone call, to let you know what is happening. The appropriate vendor then schedules a time directly with the tenant. If this is impossible, then a Black Bear representative will meet the vendor at the property. Most of the venders that we use are aware of our expectation. They let us know if a repair is going to cost more than $200-$250. They know to consult with us before making any additional tenant-directed repairs. If a repair is more complicated than expected or more expensive, we work with homeowners to find a resolution. Vendors give us invoices as quickly as they can. *Many of our vendors cannot be out of pocket large amounts for material such as a hot water heater. If you have your own vendors that you prefer, we will make every effort to use them first. A list of those vendors with contact information for our file is always helpful. If you have a Home Warranty, we will also call them on your behalf if possible. We can usually make the claim for you and have the home warranty people schedule directly with the tenant. Some companies now require a credit card to be entered in order to make a service request. We will make every effort to work with the home warranty company, but it may fall to the homeowner to manage this. Most home warranty companies charge between $75.00 and $100.00 for their service call. Heat systems: We suggest that you have a service contract with a local HVAC company to service your furnace or heat pump at least once or twice a year. We can require that tenants
change the filters, and we remind them of this responsibility by email periodically. But with a service contract, you know that the filters are getting changed at least twice a year, and it also lets us know if the tenant is fulfilling his or her responsibility. Fireplaces/woodstoves: if you have a wood burning fireplace or wood stove, it is advisable to get the chimneys cleaned once per year. This prevents creosote buildup and chimney fires. The costs seem to range from $125.00 and $175.00. The chimney sweeps also do an inspection at that time and will let you know the condition of the chimney and the flue. 14. What is a maintenance account? We require homeowners to keep a maintenance account of at least $200 for each property, on deposit with Black Bear Rentals, Inc. The maintenance account allow us to pay vendors when the work is completed. We can only pay vendors from funds allocated for your property. Once the rent has been given to you, there is nothing in your account with which to pay anyone. The maintenance fund allows us to pay vendors for repairs at your home from an account set up with your money. We then reimburse that fund from your rental proceeds as needed. ***Please note in the Property Management Agreement, that you are giving BBR, Inc. discretionary decision making of up to $200. We make every effort to keep you informed as quickly as possible and send you invoices attached to your statement with contact info for vendors if you have questions. 15. When will maintenance invoices be paid for my home if a problem arises? You will see the paid invoices attached to your monthly statement. We pay invoices from rent proceeds, maintenance accounts and occasionally from our own(bbr s) pocket, if necessary. If there is a large amount due, you will know this ahead of time. We may ask you to pay a vendor directly if there will not be enough in the monthly rent, or maintenance account. 16. Does Black Bear Rentals take care of seasonal maintenance like heating/air maintenance, chimney sweeping maintenance, yard maintenance? We can arrange to take care of those items on your behalf. We will facilitate the scheduling of those items with the tenant and vendor. We recommend the following: Heating and Air- service in the fall and winter Chimney sweep- once per year Yard Maintenance- options 1. Charge a sufficient amount in rent to cover the annual maintenace of the yard 2. Ask tenants to mow and owners provide a periodic clean up consisting of trimming trees; shaping shrubs; cleaning up beds; mulch if needed; addressing kudzu/poison ivy/english ivy; possible leaf clean up at the end of the season; etc. **We find that very few tenants will do the heavy lifting required to really maintain a yard. They will mow, but will often let shrubs and vines and flower beds get out of control. Rather than set up a contentious situation, we find it better to plan for this up front.
17. When will I receive my check? Most owners will receive a deposit directly from our bank to your through an ACH transfer. The timing of that depends on several factors. We make every effort to collect invoices from vendors and rent from tenants before the first of the month. We initiate ACH payouts from our account on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th of each month, then again on the 7th or 8th as needed. We try to have all money for long term rentals out by the 10th of each month. We pay short term rental owners between the 10th and the 15th. We then address move outs and security deposits. However, we do not have control over when rent actually gets paid to us, or how. We can only pay what we have available to us. If we send the rent proceeds prematurely, and a check is returned to us for insufficient fund, we are no longer in compliance with Trust account laws and must ask owners to return those proceeds immediately. 18 How much is Black Bear Rentals, Inc. s fee for long term rentals and vacation rentals? BBR, Inc. charges 10% of the monthly rent for a long term rental (3 months or longer) and 20% on all rent collected for short term rentals. There is an explanation of fees on the website under the Owner drop down menu, titled BBR Fee Structure. 19. Will Black Bear Rentals, Inc. take care of eviction if necessary? If an eviction becomes necessary, we will give notice and file for a summary ejectment with the magistrate. The cost of filing, however is an owner expense. The magistrate may give that to the owner as part of the damages in a judgement, but that is not guaranteed. We address this in the rental agreement as well. We will notify the tenant, prepare the paperwork and attend the hearing on the owner s behalf. 20. When do I need to renew my property management agreement if I would like to continue to use Black Bear Rentals, Inc. as my property management company? The standard property management agreement that we use automatically renews annually, unless we give one another notice. As the NC forms change periodically, we try to check in with owners 30 days before the end date of the agreement to make sure that you wish to renew. We will then update to the most current form. If you do not wish to renew, we will need 30 days notice before the end of the term in order to prepare any documents and close out accounts for you. 21. What happens if I want to terminate my Property Management agreement with Black Bear Rentals, Inc. before the 1 year term? You can give us notice of termination of our agreement at any time. We will require the 30 days in which to prepare documents and close out your account. The remainder of the commission for the current lease term on any active rental agreements will be due upon termination, if you terminate before the end of the term. This is detailed in the property management agreement. 22. What happens if tenants move out and there are damages to the home? After a tenant moves out, we conduct a walk through of the property. We have 30 days from the
end of the tenancy in which to return the security deposit or give an accounting of the money. We can only charge for actual damages incurred. We cannot charge a penalty for early move out or for cleaning or for reasonable wear and tear (including painting and cleaning carpets) UNLESS this is due to EXCESSIVE WEAR AND TEAR. These terms are ambiguous and open to interpretation. The key word here is reasonable. It is reasonable for a home to get scuffs and marks on walls from people living in the house. It is excessive to have graffiti across the dining room wall in permanent marker. Once damage has been assessed and corrected, we can deduct the amount of the repair from the security deposit. We must have receipts/invoices to back up any charges taken from tenant security deposits. Please read the brochure on our website tenant security deposits or google NC General Statutes regarding Tenant/Landlord Law for more information. 23. What if the cost for repairing the damages exceeds the amount of the security deposit? If the amount of the damage exceeds the amount of security deposit, we can give an accounting to the tenant and ask that they remit payment for the excess. If this is not done in a reasonable time, the owner may file for loss with the magistrate. The cost of doing so will be an owner expense. Black Bear Rentals, Inc. will assist with preparing the documents and may attend the hearing with the owner, but the dispensation is at the magistrate s discretion. We also report to Experian and RentBureau monthly. Tenants with a delinquent balance due for over 30 days will find this information on their credit report. 24. What is Black Bear Rentals, Inc. s process for cosigners? If an owner allows for a cosigner for a property, Black Bear Rentals, Inc. will conduct a credit check and background check on the cosigner as well as the tenant. We prepare a cosigner addendum that is signed by all parties. 25. When is the best time to reach someone at BBR, Inc. and how? For general, non emergency questions or information, email is best. blackbearrentals@gmail.com is checked frequently throughout the day by several people. My assistant conducts triage with these emails and directs them to the appropriate person or performs the necessary task. If there is something of a more personal nature, feel free to email me at angelaobrien@charter.net Our office phone is 828-712-3075. This phone is answered and checked throughout the day between 8:00am and 6:00pm. Many of you have my personal cell as well. Please be aware that my cell phone is on 24 hours a day (I have a teenager in college!). I realize that questions often occur to owners at odd times of the day and night. If these occur to you before 8:00am or after 6:00pm, please use one of the email addresses, rather than a text to my personal phone. I am available for emergencies, but try to have a little off duty time as well. Email allows me to answer your questions thoughtfully when I am in work mode, with access to information and rental agreements and bank accounts. Revised 9/13/2017