Absolutely!  You can find our most current management agreement on our website at www.lavaridgerentals.com.  Although some terms and pricing may change, this sample agreement will give you a solid understanding of our service agreement.

No.  We never ask for any money up front.  All fees and expenses will be deducted from paid rent. 

Yes.  We require a 24-month initial contract with annual renewals. We offer a 1 year contract as well with a small premium.

Cancellation of our services can be made during the renewal period or at any time after the 24-month initial contract with payment of three months management fee.

Owner funds are sent as a direct deposit on or about the last day of each month closing the month of all activity.  Owners should expect funds in their account no later than the 10th of the following month as online transfers can take up to 5 days, not including holidays or weekends.

Although we understand that this is truly your investment, it is never our professional opinion that an owner should have contact or be involved with the renters.  This always makes our job more difficult and too many people involved is a recipe for disaster.

Unfortunately, no.  Due to landlord tenant laws, the repercussions of an owner entering a rental property could cost us and the owner up to three months’ rent in fines.  Therefore, to ensure safety for the renters and minimize any potential fines to us or the owner, we will not provide owners with a copy of the key to the house.  Any owner that wants to see the house can contact our office and we will accompany the owner to the home.

Contact our property manager directly to discuss the terms of your customized management agreement.  Lynette Remund – lynette@lavaridgerentals.com or 541-706-9384

It takes 2-4 weeks to find new renters.  The new renters move in within 2-4 weeks after we find them.  Best case scenario is 2-3 weeks, and the worst-case scenario is 8 weeks.   Lava Ridge Property Management never waits for a property to become vacant to start marketing.  Once a tenant gives notice to vacate, we begin all marketing efforts.  Our goal is to have a new renter lined up before the current renter vacates.

Unfortunately, no.  This can create a fair housing liability risk.  In addition, the terms of our agreement with the credit bureaus to pull individual credit reports, is that we cannot relay any information about an applicant to anyone that is not a Lava Ridge Property Management employee involved in leasing.

We use the federal occupancy standard of 2 persons per bedroom plus 1.  Therefore a 3-bedroom home can have up to 7 people living in it.

Absolutely!  You can go to our website at www.lavaridgerentals.com and review a sample rental agreement in the ‘renters corner’.

All security deposits and last month rent deposits are held with Lava Ridge Property Management in our Client’s Trust Account – Security Deposit with Wells Fargo bank.  Due to landlord tenant law ORS 90.300 and the strict timelines for deposit final account statements and payments, we will always hold deposit funds to ensure compliance.

We perform multiple inspections of properties before and after tenants occupy that are documented with hundreds of photos and some videos.  Tenant damages will be charged back to the renter and must be repaired.  We cannot charge a renter for normal wear and tear.

All owners are highly encouraged to accept pets.  Central Oregon is rated as one of the top friendliest areas for pets with up to 70% of households having a pet.  In addition, studies have shown that renters tend to more pets than homeowners by 10%+.  Therefore, if you say “no pets” – you lose 80% of the rental market and reduce your pool of prospective renters.  Tenants that do have pets, must register their pet through a third-party pet screening website – www.petscreening.com.  Refundable pet deposits range from $350 - $1000 per pet, based on age, size and breed.

We have a proactive approach to communication with our renters AND owners for late payments.  The court system has specific rules about when we can serve renters eviction notices and when the notice expires.  Therefore, with the timeline below, we are normally able to officially ‘file’ with the county court system for eviction towards the middle of the month.  1st appearance court dates and mediation is normally around the 20th – 25th of the month.   Although, we will not hesitate to file for eviction; we work diligently with our renters and try to communicate, set up payment arrangements and resolve delinquent matters before a need to file for eviction arises.  

Delinquency timeline – average situation with no contingencies or renter withholding rent

• 1st of month – rent is due
• 5th of the month – late fee assessed
• 8th of the month – owner notified & eviction process begins w/ a 72-hour notice to pay rent
• 15th – 18th of the month – file for eviction
• 20th – 25th – 1st court appearance. 
• 30th – 5th of the month – Sherriff lock out

We do.  The time that it takes to deal with a delinquent renter, contact then, discuss their situation, post additional notices and potential court appearances is quite time consuming.  The late fee paid by the renter compensates us for the additional work and time.  Please know that we do not encourage late payments and do not consider the late fees as a profit center.  The additional time and work is never actually covered by the late fee.  On time payments IS our goal and direction!

All eviction costs are charged to the renter, however, since they already cannot pay their rent these costs are paid by the owner until we are able to collect the balance due from the renter.  Estimated costs is $300.00

Absolutely!  One of our main jobs is to ensure that a renter complies with the rental agreement. We work to ensure that all renters are treated equally to avoid any fair housing violations.  This is a delicate balance between renter and owner while ensuring we keep positive relationships.

Any request for repair is recorded through our service order system.  When a renter submits a repair request, regardless of the extent of the request, a copy of the service request is sent to the owner.  

Owners can customize a repair expense limit through their management agreement.  If we feel the repair can be made for less than the agreed expense limit, the work is completed.  If the repair is more than the expense limit, the owner is notified for approval on the expense. 

Items deemed tenant damage are billed back to the renter

Basic maintenance is completed by our in-house maintenance at a fair hourly rate for the area.  Basic maintenance is always billed out at time and material.  There is a 1-hour minimum service charge on all maintenance trips of $65.00 then actual time over the initial 1st hour billed at a lower rate. 

Reoccurring regular maintenance i.e. monthly landscaping, utility bills etc. are paid as actual charges

Non-reoccurring repairs from outside vendors are subject to an increase of 10% on top of the vendor bill.  This compensates our team for negotiating invoices in the owner’s best interest, ensuring the proper work is completed, checking the vendors work, and coordinating access with the renters which normally involves multiple trips to the property.

Base packages do not include any inspections

Deluxe packages include monthly drive by and annual interior/exterior inspections

Platinum deluxe packages include monthly drive by, annual interior/exterior inspections and 6-month base inspection after move in. 

No.  We ask the vendors to charge appropriately and do not take kickbacks.  We do receive discounted rates that are passed to the owners. 

Yes, provided they are licensed and bonded and complete the work in a timely, efficient manner that does not hinder the flow and relationship with the renters. If your vendor drops the ball or does not perform as expected, we can no longer use them.

Our state-of-the-art software informs us of this warranty, and we will coordinate work through the warranty company. 

When a tenant moves out, the last thing anyone wants is confusion about the move in condition. Was the home clean? Was the yard clean? Were the walls freshly painted? Our goal during turnovers is to ensure that every item requiring attention is dealt with prior to a new occupancy. Things we look at;

• All nail holes, nail pops, doorknob holes are filled, and paint touched up and fresh throughout
  • Weather stripping
  • Maintenance throughout the home checked and completed
• Bathroom / kitchen caulking
• Light bulbs working
• Screens intact
• All hinges and screws tight – doors align
• Furnace filters changed
• Vents and cadets vacuumed and checked
• Plumbing fixtures checked for leaks and function
• Garage remotes
• Smoke and CO detectors
• Appliances properly working
• Check blind operation
• Deep interior clean – pull all appliances out to clean under, over, behind; remove light fixtures, clean top of wood/trim, blinds, cabinets, and drawers in and out, …. This is a heavy clean that touches every surface to ensure everything is cleaned and working properly.
• Carpets professionally steam cleaned
• Yards cleaned and maintained, irrigation working
• Decks, walkways, driveways, storage sheds etc. – broom clean

Oregon law allows us to charge a tenant for anything that needs to be done to a property to bring it back to the original condition of move in, except for normal wear and tear. Dirt, nail holes etc. is NOT considered normal wear and tear.

Yes! Every year, you will receive a property plan with a preventive maintenance schedule that you approve.  This schedule includes things like; fireplace cleaning, HVAC inspections, Duct cleaning, property and irrigation winterization, gutter cleaning, and more.