So the down low on 3 companies I interviewed:Company AOver 400 units2 Property managersLate on the 5th- $50 charge to tenant, 10th- additional $25 charge to tenantNo project management fee1 drive by inspection per month, 1 full inspection every 6 monthsRequires renter’s insurance (single family homes only)Stated high percentage of tenant renewals Manager of the RE branch was a local town justice for many yearsHandles insurance claims2 evictions last year (both in same building- new project) - not tenants they placedSaid they serve fake eviction papers before moving on to full eviction process (to save owners money) Charges ½ 1st mo rent and 10%Red flags-Does not approve prospective tenants with owners (to keep owner from contacting them)Will not show lease (confidentiality)I did view one of the houses they manage, the tenant mentioned they had asked for a leak to be fixed and it had been over 2 weeksDue diligence revealed PM was arrested 3 yrs ago for petite larceny from a grocery store- weird a retired town justice would hire herCompany BManages 40 properties2 Property managersNew company (1 yr old)- all property managers came from another with years of experienceLate on the 5th- $50 charge to tenant, then 3 day pay/quit notice ~5 days later10% project management fee w/ weekly updatesInvestors make up 5-10% of their propertiesIn house maintenance staffOwner can approve tenantsOwner can provide own leaseReiterated how important communication was2 prior evictions1 manager has 2 investment propertiesCharges ½ 1st mo rent and 10%Does not want to rent low end housingRed flags-One of the property managers never responded to first 2 emails, 2nd manager was prompt every responseDoes not want large portfolio of rentals (150+)One of the property managers has boyfriend writing reviews on how great she is, same manager that never responded (looked him up and he has a lengthy arrest record)Does not perform regular inspections unless owner requires (sounds reassuring- sarcasm intended)Admitted no set schedule for inspections but noted “they can do them”Company CMy current agent/his wife would manage- part of a franchised-brokered companyI’ve bought and sold 1 property through him- sold in 6 days in a market with over 365 days of inventory, though the sale drug out 6 months due to the buyer/buyers agentEthics is of utmost importance to him (proven this)Late on the 4th- $25 charge to tenantWill provide project management (taking pictures, lock box for contractors) free of chargeAverage ~ 2 year tenancyWill be providing investor referencesStandard lease- owner can’t changeProvides copy of lease to ownerPrefers owner not to contact tenant but not against policy (want to send out semi-annual survey for their review of management/property)No repairs w/o owner permission (unless emergency)Drive by inspections often2 evictions last year- not tenants they placedAs an agent they are the most geared toward investors in the areaCharges ½ 1st mo rent and 10%Red flags-Current late fee is only $25 (brokered company rules)- they have a meeting next week to discussHave tenant submit background check through online platform- I’ve found tenants to be lazy and would rather you do thisNo annual/semi-annual inspections- said they check smoke detector batteries/change furnace filter once per yr

for security lights - you can  get inexpensive battery or solar lights that work well... 

Villa Rica has an extensive development plan with Fuqua, the company the worked on the Battery Park project in Atlanta. 

You need to make sure regular maintenance has been taken care of such as batteries in smoke detectors, outside hose bibs are turned off in the winter and air filter has been changed. 

End result your transportation will probably cost a lot more yearly, and then there will be used battery disposal fees too.Just my 2 Cents.  

So I’ll be looking for other places that offer the Tesla battery and solar option.

Claim Estimate: $200 (about10% of paint + cleaning estimated charges)- Few light bulbs missing, one fire alarm not functional (battery popped out), no AC filter at move out.    

I install what I call "screechers," battery operated water alarms where it goes off like a smoke detector if water touches it. 

A good old lock box doesn't use batteries so less things to maintain or fail.I use the Honeywell RTH 9580 wifi thermostats.

It might be a better idea to come up with ligament reasons to check the property such as scheduled repairs. ie: yearly furnace cleans on one date. replace the batteries in the smoke alarms on another trip, and one yearly apartment inspection for damages.