Spring 2024 Newsletter
Our Reliable Service | Your Peace of Mind
Spotlight on Vendor Dat Hoang
Meet Dat, one of our invaluable contractor handymen, whose expertise has been an integral part of our company for over two decades. With his unmatched skills (Dat can do anything!) and dedication, he has effortlessly tackled every maintenance challenge thrown his way, ensuring smooth operations day in and day out. Dat's unwavering commitment to excellence and his wealth of experience make him an indispensable member of our contracting team, embodying reliability and proficiency in every task he undertakes, all while trying to save our owners money. We cannot do our jobs without Dat.
Updated Seattle Renter's Handbook has Arrived
The 2024 edition of the Seattle Renter's Handbook, produced by the City's Renting in Seattle program, is now available and a “must read” for all Seattle rental property owners. This handbook serves as a required guide for both rental housing providers and tenants, summarizing rental regulations and outlining the rights and responsibilities of each party.
Whether your rental property is in Seattle or the outlying areas, it is crucial to stay informed about the latest updates in rental laws and regulations. The 2024 edition of the Renter's Handbook spells out legal requirements of landlords, including recent updates in legislation. It also covers tenant responsibilities, their rights, and voter registration. By law, we are required to provide a hard copy of this handbook for all tenants when they move into the property—not just an electronic version.
Follow this link for your own electronic copy:
Spring Cleaning!
Every season comes with its own set of challenges, and opportunities, for home maintenance and improvement. Here’s a quick list of things we look and ask tenants to keep an eye out for as well:
- Replace HVAC filters!
- Refresh batteries in smoke detectors, CO monitors and keyless entries.
- Clean roof and gutters to prolong your home’s roof and exterior, remove hose bib covers, and prune shrubbery and trees away from roofline and siding.
- Windows! When the sun finally peeks out, you notice how dirty the windows are. And with our hotter, smokier summers, windows and screens are needing to get cleaned more often. Start the season with sparkly clean windows!
Rental Investment Opportunities in Snohomish County
At Maple Leaf Property Management, our managers specialize in different areas of Western Washington. Manager Tina Beck specializes in Snohomish County and offers these insights:
The cities of Lake Stevens and Snohomish are prime locations for real estate investors. These cities have very few apartment complexes and there are no current permits in the pipeline to have any built, leaving very few rental homes available under $3000 in these areas. Lake Stevens has a top-rated School District with excellent academics and athletics, and people are vying to move into the school district as they are not giving any variances to anyone who is outside their boundaries. Lake Stevens is also considered a very safe place to live with one of the lowest crime rates in the area, adding to its attraction for families.
There are also a lot of jobs in the area and more on the horizon. Tesla has started construction of a 260,000 s.f. warehouse up in Arlington near the Amazon Distribution Center and Frito-Lay just announced that they will be building a 302,000 s.f. warehouse in Arlington as well. And, of course, there’s Boeing, which is moving a production line from Renton up to the Everett plant, making rental homes in the Lynnwood, Mukilteo and Edmond area tough to find.
Benefits of Hiring a Property Manager
Hiring a property manager offers many benefits to make your investment more successful and profitable. Here are just a few:
- Keeping you in compliance with housing regulations and property laws
There are a multitude of applicable laws and regulations to abide by when renting and maintaining your rental property, and these rules are constantly evolving. These include local, state and federal regulations, as well as fair housing regulations (such as the ADA). We help keep your property up-to-date and in compliance with these regulations.
2. Collecting and depositing monthly rent payments on time
Maple Leaf Property Management has efficient, tried-and-true systems in place to effectively collect rent and maintain on-time payments. You'll find this particularly important if you have a limited number of properties, and collecting payments on time is crucial to maintaining your cash flow.
3. Marketing and advertising your property
We list your property with 50+ partners plus affiliates of those partners and know how to craft compelling advertising materials—a significant advantage when it comes to filling your properties quickly and avoiding long vacancies. We also avoid platforms that are notorious for scams, such as Craigslist.
4. Securing the best tenants
Our professional property managers take care of all the screening details, including securing all criminal background and security checks (in cities where that’s allowed), running credit reports, verifying employment, and collecting previous landlord references on your potential tenants.
5. Managing tenants
In addition to finding good tenants, we manage all aspects of the tenant-landlord relationship. The property manager will handle both routine and emergency maintenance, take care of routine property inspections, and manage any situation where conflict resolution is required.
6. Managing vendor relationships
Maple Leaf Property Management has great relationships with maintenance workers, tradesmen, contractors, suppliers, and vendors--difficult for an independent landlord to duplicate. We always strive to get you the best work for the best price.
7. Setting the right rental rates
A professional property manager will conduct a thorough market study in order to set a rental price for your property, ensuring that you achieve the perfect balance between maximizing monthly income and maintaining a low vacancy rate. At Maple Leaf Property Management, we look at multiple pricing platforms to determine the best listing price for your property.
8. Enabling you to invest in geographically distant properties
If you manage your own properties, you're pretty much limited to investment opportunities within a tight radius of your own home. By hiring Maple Leaf Property Management, you can invest in Western Washington, but live anywhere in the world.
9. Maximizing the profitability of your time
By having a property manager take care of the day-to-day aspects of running your income property, you're free to spend your time working on other endeavors, whether it’s furthering your current career or starting a whole adventure.
