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We hope the FAQs will help answer some of the more common questions we receive
We offer both full service Property Management as well as Marketing Only options.
Rent is collected from tenants at the beginning of each month. At the end of every month, you will be able to see the activity in your account on your owner portal. Your statements are also available on the owner portal. The disbursement for the rent collected, minus our management fee and any other expenses, will be deposited to the account you have directed within your owner portal.
The security deposit is given to us by the tenant to hold during the term of the lease. As such, it is their money and is to be returned to them when they satisfactorily complete the terms of their lease agreement. We are required by law to hold the security deposit in a special trust account.
Owner’s funds are a one-time, lump-sum payment used to pay any expenses incurred until your property is rented. In other words, it is your money and will only be used to pay for costs directly associated with your property while vacant, such as utilities, touch-up cleaning, maintenance, etc.
This $395 fee covers the expenses associated with setting up your account and performing the initial assessment and marketing of your property. These activities vary depending on whether the property is currently rented, but include a thorough property work-up, photos, Multiple Listing Service input, inclusion on multiple websites, and advertising in a variety of media including print and digital.
The property should be advertised for rent at least 60 to 90 days prior to its availability date. Most renters are looking for property one or two months before they’re ready to move in. If your property is suitable for undergraduate, students we recommend marketing in the fall before the upcoming academic year. Students typically sign leases for May or August in January, February, and March of the year.
We do our best to get each and every property available for rent as soon as possible. Factors that affect our speed include the overall condition of the property, time of year, and whether or not all the information, keys, documentation, and funds needed have been provided to us.
The management agreement stipulates that we have discretionary control over the handling of minor repairs and expenses. For any major repairs, we will contact you for approval prior to beginning the necessary work. The only exception to this policy is an emergency that requires us to act quickly to protect the property from sudden and severe damage. Turnover work between tenants is not maintenance.
We respond promptly to emergency situations. For less urgent issues, we prefer to use a service person that is already familiar with your property. While this may cause a slight delay in fixing the problem, as scheduling issues may occur, it benefits your property in the long run. We have good working relationships with a variety of reliable and experienced service providers. Because we use them on a regular basis, they are loyal to us and may often be less expensive to use than large companies.
These days, many tenants have pets that they treat as members of the family, and they expect to find housing that will accommodate them. Your home will have a better chance of renting if you allow pets. A policy that works well for us is advising tenants that the owner must approve all pets prior to move-in, and that no additional pets are allowed under any circumstances unless prior approval is received. We also charge a non-refundable pet fee which is paid directly to you. Those tenants willing to pay the fee are typically responsible pet owners. If you decide to prohibit pets in your unit, keep in mind that you may be reducing your tenant pool by as much as 50%.
As your agent, we sign the lease. You do not have to sign the lease agreement.
While the property is vacant, we put the utilities in our name. When the property is rented, we then turn off the utilities in our name so that the new tenant can put them into their name and become responsible for payment.
Even if you or the last tenant left the property clean, if a house sits vacant for several weeks or months, dust and dirt build-up. In most cases, properties need a touch-up cleaning before a tenant moves in.
All of the properties under Louise Beck Properties management do not allow smoking inside of the property.
Once the rent is late, we send a letter notifying the tenant of the late fee and request immediate payment. If the payment is not made by the middle of the month, we begin court proceedings to recover the amount owed. All associated court costs are included in the total amount owed by the tenant when court papers are filed. Although the entire amount is not recovered 100% of the time, we do our best to recover as much of the cost as possible.
When a tenant moves out, we hold their security deposit until we can perform a thorough move-out inspection. If damage has occurred or they haven’t paid rent, their security deposit may be used to pay for the repairs or lost rent. If the rent owed or cost of repairs exceeds the security deposit, we have two options: we can begin legal proceedings to collect the rent/damages owed, or we can turn the account over to a collection agency within 30 days. We cannot do both. The collection agency charges a percentage (currently 28%) of monies collected, and you will receive the balance (less our management fee if rent is recovered).
Our leasing agents and property managers are frequently out of the office showing properties or inspecting them. This happens more frequently during the busiest rental season (May, June, July, August). We have an automated telephone system that answers all calls and routes them to the appropriate staff member. We are always reachable in the event of an emergency. Otherwise, please leave a message on voice mail and be patient. Your call will be returned as soon as possible.
Rent is due and payable in our office on the 1st day of each month. It is considered late after the 5th day of each month. After the 5th day, you will be charged a late-rent fee of 5% of one month’s rent amount. If you mail your check to our office, allow 10 days to be sure it arrives on time. You may also bring your rent payment directly to our office during normal business hours. We also have a locked drop box near our front door if you are dropping off your check after hours.
We do not accept cash rental payments. You must pay by check or money order. This is for our protection, and for yours. Keeping cash on our premises has grown increasingly dangerous. In addition, it is harder to track cash payments and ensure they are credited appropriately to your account each month.
Absolutely. When you and your roommates sign your lease, you agree to pay a specified total monthly amount for the property. If one of your roommates can’t pay his/her share, and we are forced to begin court proceedings to recover his/her rent, the court proceedings involve everyone in the home. All of your names are on the lease; therefore, all of you are equally responsible.
Before you move in to your rental house, you’re provided with a Move-In Inspection Form. This form is for your protection! The form is a record of any existing damage to the house when you take possession and serves as proof that you didn’t cause the damage. The form must be returned to us within ten days of your occupancy or it is invalid. If you didn’t receive the form when you picked up your keys or misplaced it, you may pick up another form in our office. We can also fax or e-mail you a new one, or you may download one here.
You are. We turn off utilities in our name effective on the first date your lease begins. Therefore, it is your responsibility to contact the appropriate utility companies and request that service begin in your name on the first day of your lease. If you do not do this, you may not have utilities on the day you move in.
We recommend that you allow plenty of time for the utility companies to begin furnishing service to your unit. It may take up to several business days for service to begin, particularly during peak seasons or holidays.
If you cannot move in to the unit on the first day your lease begins, you must begin utility service on that date. Occasionally, problems or delays occur between the time when we have service turned off in our name, and service begins in your name. If you must have power, heat, water, etc. on a certain date, do not assume the utilities are in place. This is especially important in winter, when pipes may freeze and burst if not properly maintained. Double-check with the utility companies to make sure service has begun.
Check your lease agreement to see if you are responsible for yard upkeep or if the owner has furnished yard maintenance as part of your monthly rental amount. If you need a copy of your lease, call a leasing agent, at (919) 401-9300 x. 100 or e-mail rent@louisebeckproperties.com.
Yes. You must receive written approval from Louise Beck Properties before changing or altering the unit in any way, including painting. Otherwise, you could be held financially responsible for putting the unit back as it was when you moved in. Also, before you install any sort of fixture (Window Unit A/C, ceiling fans, etc.), check with us first. North Carolina Real Estate Law has strict guidelines determining who owns a fixture once it has been permanently attached to the house. Email one of our property managers for more information.
Your lease requires that you have renter’s insurance to protect you. Our owners carry insurance on the building that you live in, but their insurance does not protect your personal property, your liability, or loss of use if the property is damaged and cannot be occupied. Renter’s insurance is inexpensive and very easy to get; your car insurance company most likely offers this coverage.
Read our Change of Tenancy page, or our Early Marketing page.
Yes. You must provide us your notice to vacate through your tenant portal per your lease terms. In many instances, that notice must be received at least 90 days before the end of your lease. Some properties designated by LBP as student rentals may require Tenants to make renewal/move-out decisions in the fall of each year for the next academic year.
It’s very simple. The unit must not be damaged and must be clean when you leave it. We understand that “clean” means different things to different people, so we’ve provided a Moving Out page where you can find information on what we expect in order to give you a full refund of your security deposit.
The security deposit will be returned to the “Primary Tenant” within 60 days of your lease end date and receipt of ALL keys. The property will not be considered vacated until all keys are turned in to our office. You can speed up the process by providing us with a forwarding address. See our Moving Out page for more details.
No. We cannot stress enough that your security deposit cannot be used to pay your last month’s rent, as this is violation of your lease as well as a violation of North Carolina law. Your security deposit is intended to protect the owner of the property against damage caused to the unit during your occupancy. Your monthly rate is a completely separate payment that is due in our office on the 1st day of each month and is considered late after the 5th day of the month. In fact, if your last month’s rent is not in our office by the 6th of the month, we immediately file court papers to recover that rent. If you have questions about this policy, we encourage you to email one of our property managers to discuss it.
This is a common misconception, and the answer is no. Louise Beck Properties is a property management company. Property owners pay us a monthly fee to manage the renting of their houses, condos, and apartment buildings. Therefore, we work for the owners and our first responsibility is to them. We are bound by a property management agreement to act in our owners’ best interests. Louise Beck Properties does not actually own any property.
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