Fall 2022 Newsletter
Our Reliable Service | Your Peace of Mind
Awarded Best in the Business - Again!
Maple Leaf Property Management is thrilled to announce we have once again been chosen by Three Best Rated as one of the top property management companies in Seattle for 2022. This rating service uses a 50-point inspection system to meticulously select and recommend outstanding companies (no “pay to play”!). Please follow this link for all the details: https://threebestrated.com/property-management-in-seattle-wa
One thing we’d like to point out—of the top three selected, Maple Leaf Property Management is the youngest company. We’re so proud of how far we’ve come in such a short time!
LLCs: Don't Forget to Transfer Property Title
There are many benefits to opening an LLC for your rental properties: protection from personal liability and creating separate ownership for multiple properties to name a few. However, owners often set up an LLC after the property has been purchased and forget a very important step: transferring the deed to the LLC. Until this is accomplished, the individual owner does not have any additional liability protection from the LLC. In fact, everything associated with the property needs to reflect that is now owned by the LLC.
To have all the benefits of an LLC, follow these steps:
- Contact your lender: Some lenders may be willing to allow you to transfer property title to an LLC that you own as long as you remain fully obligated on the mortgage, or they might require you to refinance the mortgage with the LLC as a borrower:
- Form an LLC: In Washington state, LLCs are registered with the Secretary of State. This can all be done online: https://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/limitedliabilitycompaniesllconlineandpaperregistrations.aspx
- Obtain a tax ID number and open an LLC bank account.
- Obtain a form for a deed. Deed forms can be found at the county record’s office, on the Internet, or you can have an attorney prepare a deed for you.
- Fill out the warranty or quitclaim deed form. When this is done, the individual owner is the grantor, and the LLC is the grantee.
- Sign the deed to transfer property to the LLC.
- Record the deed.
- Change your lease. If you have started an LLC after renting out your investment property, make sure to amend the lease showing that the agreement is now between the tenants and the LLC.
- Update your Property Management Agreement. After setting up the LLC, transferring the property, signing and recording the deed, don’t forget to update your Property Management Agreement. This should now be between the property management company and the LLC.
Rental Properties and Security
After several summers of pandemic-related restrictions, it’s been great to do business as usual these past few months. But, not everything is the same as it was three years ago. We’ve noticed a huge spike in rental scams and security issues in all the areas we serve, and the scammers are getting very sophisticated.
To deal with these aggressive criminals, we’ve recognized we need more robust ways of securing properties when they’re on the market. One of the many things we’re doing is eliminating the old-fashioned contractor boxes for keys. Thieves can cut these off and quickly crack open the box. We are replacing these with more keyless entries at homes, and installing a product called CodeBox (https://codeboxinc.com/) wherever possible. CodeBoxes can have codes changed remotely, are made of stronger materials, and can be fastened onto a house.
Our owners will be receiving more details on CodeBox in the coming months.
The Maple Leaf Foundation Already Has Four Houses!
The Maple Leaf Foundation has had an exciting month! Due to generous homeowners and exciting community partnerships, we have gone from two houses to four! We have doubled our impact for families at Seattle Children’s Hospital and surpassed our goal of securing three rental homes in our first year. Three cheers for local start-up, Showdigs, for becoming our very first corporate sponsor! Lead by CEO and Maple Leaf Foundation board member, Kobi Bensimon, Showdigs will be subsidizing the rent for one year and providing some serious volunteer muscle for house #3! House #4 is coming in hot! It's fully furnished and equipped with soft toys, art-supplies, and games. The "Monda House" has been made available by Maple Leaf Real Estate broker, Julie Johnston-Monda and her husband Joe. Upon hearing about the Maple Leaf Foundation, they agreed to convert their AirBnB, into a "Maple Leaf House" and make a tax-deductible, monthly donation to help us subsidize the rent. Thank you, Julie and Joe, we can’t wait for a family to move in!
Sweet baby Sienna settled in with her parents at "Chris' House" on September 1st and her parents reported she slept for 12 hours straight! It was their first time to sleep out of the hospital in more than a month. For photos and stories find us on FB & Instagram @mapleleaffoundation Please consider supporting these families by making a recurring donation today.
www.MapleLeafFoundation.org/donate
Update on Trends from the Rental Housing Journal
Recent data from Apartment List and other sources all show a positive trend for rent growth in the Seattle area and Washington state in general. In the past 12 months, the average rent in Seattle is up 5.8 percent. Median rents in the entire Seattle metro area have increased, with the greatest increase in Redmond (15%!). The increases could be explained in part by the post-pandemic correction in the market. Still our rental market continues to prove itself resilient, even with the current effects of inflation, and a solid investment.
