Professional Property Management Services

Cape Coral

Lehigh Acres

Port Charlotte

Punta Gorda

Ft Myers

North Port

Estero

Most companies don’t discuss this as part of their service, but to us, it’s one of the most important. Switching car insurance, mortgage companies, or even babysitters is time consuming and stressful. We’re people too, and we get it. The easier, the better. That’s why we handle the whole thing for you! Simply sign a copy of our takeover letter, and we will contact your current company.

Here’s a general breakdown of how we handle the switch to Douglas:

Switching from Another Company

We do the following:

• Contact other company and notify of cancellation (with your written letter/email copied)
• Physically pick up keys, copy of the lease, and all necessary paperwork they have
• Oversee security deposit transfer to our account
• Contact current tenant to notify of management company change
• Provide tenant with logins to our software for easy rent payment
• Do an  inspection of property to see condition and email you pictures with a report
• Get you situated with our software and owner portal login

Switching from Self-Managing

• Collect keys, security deposit, copy of the lease, and any relative information to the property
• Contact tenants and inform them of their new management company
• Schedule inspection for us to be familiar with condition of property
• Get you situated with our software and owner portal login

*If your property is vacant when you make the switch, we will do our inspection to ensure it is rent ready, then begin the full process of management and tenant procurement.

The main takeaway is this: we have designed this process to make it as stress free as possible. We don’t want you worrying about anything, and to simply feel good about your decision to switch.

Proper advertisement for a rental property is extremely important. Vacancies are a huge problem in this business, and we do everything to mitigate them, especially in high inventory market cycles. 

Many rental offices only utilize the MLS to advertise rentals. In the day and age of everything being online, most potential renters are using a multitude of websites to search for their next home, so it’s important to make sure your property is on all of these websites. Here is how we handle your vacant property:

1. Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
   If you’re unfamiliar, this is a service for realtors only, and lists all property for rent or sale. When your property is input, all other realtors can see this and gather all the information they need for their clients. The problem with the MLS is potential renters don’t have access to it, so only those working with a rental agent would be able to see your property. It’s only a piece of the puzzle. Although the MLS does syndicate to other websites, it is certainly limited in how many.
2. Third Party Data Syndicator
   They allow us to enter your property info, and they syndicate it out to all the big rental websites, such as Trulia, Hotpads, Zillow, and about 100 others. It’s a greater financial cost to us, but it’s an efficient way to get properties in front of as many potential renters as possible.
3. Qualified Tenant Lists
   This is our own in-house list of tenants we collect in a period of time of those folks who are pre-qualified, but we don’t have a property to fit their needs. This way, when one of our properties comes up for rent, or you give us yours to manage, we already have people ready to go.

The rental market in SWFL has gone through many market cycles and it’s important to note that in higher inventory markets it takes significantly more effort to rent properties. Our agents are trained to sell the idea of renting your property through us. In difficult markets, renters may look at 10-20 homes before selecting one. That’s why we explain all the perks of choosing a home with us: industry low app fees, an attentive maintenance department, after hours emergency phones, fully staffed offices ready to help assist them, and a fun friendly staff of showing agents that show after hours and on weekends. 

Believe it or not, many prospective tenants are surprised when we respond to their inquiries almost instantly and tell us how often they never get a returned call from other property management companies, wow!

There are many pieces to the puzzle regarding property management, but this is certainly one of the the more important facets.

It’s a very easy place to screw up as a property manager, so for over 4 decades, we’ve refined this process over and over to ensure you and we have a successful experience with your renter. 

A very important distinction with Douglas Realty is our showing agent don’t choose who goes into your home. Most other companies have agents show the property, run the background check, and make the decision. We see this as a huge conflict of interest since the sales people of course want to get paid. 

Our office admin staff runs the application and makes the decision. 

• Tenant applications are processed online only after they have viewed the property either in person or via video call. 
• Our industry leading software does nationwide background checks
• Credit, sex offender, criminal, felony checks included
• Income and employment verification via proof of income
• We require prospective tenants make 2.5x the monthly rent amount
• Contact previous landlords/management companies for verification of tenant’s rental payment history, condition of property when vacated
• No prior evictions allowed

You can be as involved in this process, or as un-involved as you would like. We will always give our recommendations on giving a thumbs up or down. 

Using this process, our eviction rate is an industry low. Of course there is no way to guarantee how a renter will treat your property or if they’ll pay on time, but over the years our process has mitigated that risk as much as possible. 

One of the most difficult elements of being a Landlord is dealing with turnover costs or damaged properties.

Over the years, we’ve got this process down to a science, so much so, we’ve never lost a security deposit dispute in court.

Here’s how it works:

1. When a property is in “rent ready” mode, and on the market, we fill out a thorough inspection report accompanied with many pictures so we know the exact condition of the property before a tenant moves in.
2. Once a tenant is placed, we advise them to take pictures of any problem areas and make note of it so they are not wrongfully charged for something they didn’t do.
3. At 10 months, we conduct an inspection to ensure the property is being properly maintained and taken care of, and confirm or deny if the tenants are worthy of renewal. We fill out a report that is sent to you along with pictures, so you can see the condition of the property rather than just read it on a report.
4. Upon the tenant vacating, we use the same type of report used a year prior (move-in inspection) and conduct a move out inspection, and of course, take many pictures.
5. We compare the move in to the move out inspection to determine what damages were caused by tenants. Most common are not having carpets professionally cleaned (which they are required to do per our lease), not deep cleaning the house, or leaving behind personal items.
6. Any items on the report we deem the tenant’s responsibility are deducted from their security deposits. The monetary amount deducted is based off estimates from vendors on what it would cost to repair.

This process has proven to be the most effective and allows our clients to rest easy knowing we play a fair game in making sure damages are properly deducted, so their property can turn quickly and rent again.

Security deposit amounts are typically set $100 more than the rental amount, but we can customize this for any property owner’s preference. Just be careful not to have us set it too high, as requiring more money out of pocket for potential renters makes it more difficult to rent.

As detailed under the “Management Fees” drop down on this page, the Douglas Additional Inspection Package includes 2 additional inspections conducted on the 3rd and 7th month in addition to the 3 that are already conducted. These inspections are complete with a report, pictures, and we will 7 day notice the tenants for any violations. More information can be found under the “Management Fees” tab.

The biggest gripe we hear with new clients is how their old management company handled maintenance issues so irresponsibly. It’s quite clear this is the part of property management that is typically the most poorly run, and where property owners get ripped off the most. For your education and to help you understand why we do things the way we do, here’s some common ways landlords are ripped off without you knowing with maintenance. Companies can:

• Have vendors do work, but create their own invoices that have markups you could never see
• Say things are broken, like a $5,000 A/C replacement, when they’re really working just fine, and pocket the money (yes, we’ve seen this happen)
• Use their own in house handymen who are unlicensed and uneducated in the field of work, pay them $10 an hour and charge you $50 an hour

That’s why our maintenance department is setup differently.

We have two full time maintenance personnel in each of our offices who coordinate all repairs between owner, tenant, and vendor, hence their title “Maintenance Coordinator.” Each member has a background in construction/handy work so they know what to look for. Here is what they do:

• Get several bids on larger ticket jobs so property owners can pick the best price
• Require written permission from you before any work is done. All too often we hear “my property manager did work without even asking me”
• Have developed great relationships with trustworthy vendors who put Douglas Client’s work first.
• Use detailed reports for move in, renewal, and move out inspections along with high quality photos so you always know the condition of your property
• Monitor a 24/7 after hours phones for emergencies. This is for fires, flood, no water, no A/C, or plumbing issues. If the property or inhabitants are in danger, and we are unable to contact you, we will work on your behalf and send an emergency vendor. The most typical is for flooding.
• Can collect money for repairs (if the cost is greater than what’s in your account with us) via your owner portal so repairs can get started ASAP

The big takeaway with our maintenance department is you’ll always be notified of repairs before we do them, and they are able to get the best pricing in town thanks to our local reputation of giving large volumes of work, and paying our vendors quickly. The savings are always passed directly to you.

We’ve partnered with one of the top management software companies that allows us to provide the best possible service in the industry to our clients. 

• Tenants and Owners are able to access their account anytime, anywhere
• Allows tenants to pay rent online using debit, credit, or bank information. This is important because the convenience factor means timely and predictable rent payments
• Owners can check their accounts, see pending maintenance work orders, and statements
• If you need to submit money for repairs, you can do so via your portal rather than waiting for a check to be mailed, so repairs can be started faster

Having proper software makes your life, and ours, much easier. It allows our offices to run like a well oiled machine, and have everyone “on the same page” all the time.

Propertyware also allows for a simple consolidated 1099 to be prepared at the end of the year.

The good news is, you shouldn’t even worry about this. Not surprisingly, this is the most asked question we get, which tells us landlords are always expecting the worst, and are plagued with past management nightmares.

Our eviction rate is under .4% per year, meaning it’s only a handful between all the cities we manage. In the rare case an eviction occurs, we handle the entire thing for you, and will represent you in court. Many times, we hear new clients telling us stories of traveling to Florida just to handle an eviction and incur all the expenses with it.

• We handle all aspects of the eviction for you
• The cost varies, but runs about $700-900
• Our partnered law firm handles and advises on all legal aspects
• We meet the sheriff’s department at the property, and conduct a full inspection with pictures

This is rare occurrence, but it’s important to know that if you do find yourself in a situation where a tenant needs to be evicted, we will ensure it is done as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Douglas Realty property owners are distributed to starting on the 10th of the month. If your tenant has paid on time, you can expect payment from the 10th-15th of that month.

• You’ll receive your rent on or before the 15th of the month
• We ACH disbursements directly to your account so there’s no waiting for a check to be mailed
• If you prefer mailed checks instead, we cater to that need as well
• We make sure all rent checks are cleared and the money is in our accounts before it’s sent to you, so you don’t have to deal with bad checks

Management fees can be complicated. We know this because we see lots of management contracts from other companies. So, we keep it simple. 

We charge a monthly management fee which a isi a percentage of the rent, a fee to place a tenant, and a renewal fee if the tenant renews their lease. These fees vary based on the rental amount, so contact us for a same day quote on your specific property. Our fees are very competitive, but our service is simply unmatched.  

When people shop management only based on price, and pick the cheapest, you’re guaranteed to be frustrated with the service. 

We don’t charge you anything unless your property is rented. If you’re not making money, we shouldn’t be either. Our fees are structured based on several factors: amount of properties you have, their location, and their quality and how much we can rent it for.

Douglas’ Additional Inspection Package

As of mid 2017, we’ve introduced an additional service that we simply cannot recommend enough to anyone looking to get into the ultimate preventative maintenance program. The Additional Inspection Package includes everything discussed on this page, but has a key addition that makes it worth any landlord’s while.

In addition to the 3 inspections we offer (explained under the Inspections, Security Deposits, and Reports drop down), this package grants an additional 2 inspections that are conducted on the 3rd and 7th month of tenancy. This is extremely important in the sense that your tenants are informed your property is under this program, so they know we will be there every other month checking on the property. Don’t you agree they might treat the property a bit differently? It’s designed to help eliminate high turnover costs from unruly tenants who aren’t treating the property as they should.

One of the biggest issues is tenants not changing A/C filters even though we send reminders, put it in the lease, and have signs on all our office doors. Arguably one of the biggest pluses of this service is our inspector taking the time to check the A/C filter to prevent a costly repair. Tenants will be given a 7 day notice to rectify the issue.

This preventative maintenance plan comes at a greater cost to us considering the additional personnel required to schedule, inspect, and send reports and pictures, so we translate that cost for a low price of $129 a year. We simply withhold $64.50 on the 2 months the inspections are done.

 The Additional Inspection Package includes everything discussed on this page, but has a key addition that makes it worth any landlord’s while.

In addition to the 3 inspections we offer (explained under the Inspections, Security Deposits, and Reports drop down), this package grants an additional 2 inspections that are conducted on the 3rd and 7th month of tenancy. This is extremely important in the sense that your tenants are informed your property is under this program, so they know we will be there every other month checking on the property. Don’t you agree they might treat the property a bit differently? It’s designed to help eliminate high turnover costs from unruly tenants who aren’t treating the property as they should.

One of the biggest issues is tenants not changing A/C filters even though we send reminders, put it in the lease, and have signs on all our office doors. Arguably one of the biggest pluses of this service is our inspector taking the time to check the A/C filter to prevent a costly repair. Tenants will be given a 7 day notice to rectify the issue.

This preventative maintenance plan comes at a greater cost to us considering the additional personnel required to schedule, inspect, and send reports and pictures, so we translate that cost for a low price of $129 a year. We simply withhold $64.50 on the 2 months the inspections are done.