Owner FAQs

Approved applicants who have paid the first month’s rent will confirm a move-in date that is between 48 hours and 30 days from the time the first month’s rent is submitted. In the event of an expedited move-in within 24-48 hours of approval, it is important that your property is in a rent-ready condition. The most important factor for tenants is a clean home. We don’t want to turn away an approved application because they cannot wait for the home to be cleaned.

It seems simple enough, but there are potential liability issues to consider. When a property is leased, there are laws to which all parties must adhere. Contractors we use are required to have a business license, liability insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance. Without being accompanied by a Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. team member, a homeowner cannot enter the property once a tenant has been placed.

Yes, a landlord can increase the rent, but landlords cannot raise the rent without ‘proper notice,’ which is governed by statute. The statute dictates the timing and the method by which the rent increase is communicated to your tenant. Our lease includes an increase with each renewal term, which you may override if you wish.

A rental property is considered a ‘less-than-freehold estate,’ also called a leasehold estate. The tenant is the lessee and has exclusive possession of the property. The landlord cannot ‘use or occupy’ the home during the tenancy.

We strive to provide you with quality tenants and are diligent in the following areas to greatly reduce the risk of renting out your property:

• Run credit report(s) on every applicant 18 years of age or older.
• Verify rental history or homeownership
• Verify employment
• Ensure there are no evictions on record within the past 7 years
• Confirm that there are no landlord/utility collections on record
• Our third-party nationwide criminal and landlord-tenant dispute scans are sourced from hundreds of national, state, and county courts across the U.S., including OFAC and Sex Offender Databases.

Our team is trained to protect your confidentiality. However, be aware that county tax records are publicly accessible. If your address is listed there, a tenant may contact you. Should this occur, please direct the tenant to call Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. and notify us immediately. Direct communication between a tenant and a homeowner can lead to requests for favors, leniency, and various excuses related to rent, potentially creating a divide and undermining the authority of Platinum Property Management Services, Inc.

A ‘Rental Guarantee’ advertisement is certainly compelling; it sounds like the perfect solution in a perfect world. However, if an applicant does not meet Platinum Property Management Services, Inc.'s standard qualifications for approval, or if they are considered ‘high risk’ and are denied due to low credit, insufficient income, or poor landlord references, then we do not place them in your property. Remember, a vacant home is always preferable to a bad tenant. Offering a rental guarantee can put you at risk.

Tenants with poor credit, bankruptcy, a negative landlord history, or who are unemployed will typically target owner-managed rentals because they cannot pass the application process with property management companies. A property for rent ‘by owner’ is likely to have a lower rent amount and less scrutiny of an applicant’s financial situation. tenants cannot be evicted without proper notifications, and an eviction can take months and be quite costly. We will verify, verify, verify to help mitigate risk. Tenants must meet the qualifications that Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. has established to proceed.

Yes, we can take over the management of your existing tenant, provided that the terms and conditions of Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. are met. This option requires an evaluation and follows a different process than the management of a vacant home. We will take the necessary steps in cases where the tenant is behind on their rent. The tenant acquisition fee for this service is typically $500.00.

Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. is one of the few property management companies that does not own a maintenance company. We do not add surcharges to regular maintenance. For this reason, we would be happy to have one of your vendors contact our maintenance department to determine if they meet our vendor qualifications. In addition to being fully insured, a vendor must agree to a certain level of quality, response time, and warranty provisions. If you are considering using a Home Warranty Company for your rental property, please consult our maintenance department first.

No, as the property owner, it is your decision to allow pets or not. Some owners categorically refuse any pets, while others may allow cats but not dogs, or only dogs below a certain weight limit. Pets are either permitted or not. We cannot manage the weight of a pet, and most website queries do not filter for ‘dog only’ or ‘cat only.’ If you decide to permit pets, Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. will approve applicants with pets, unless they are breed-restricted, and will allow up to two pets per home. Tenants will sign a pet addendum to the lease if the property is pet-friendly.

Choosing not to allow pets can exclude almost 75% of the rental market, potentially making it more challenging to rent your home. However, if a management company has conducted thorough due diligence, properly vetted the tenants, and collected the appropriate pet fee, the risks associated with having a pet are minimized. Remember, we also conduct quarterly property inspections!

No, we do not charge property management fees when your home is vacant. While showings will occur during vacancies, property owners should still monitor their vacant property. In the winter months, it’s necessary to ensure the heat is functioning and any snow and ice are removed to keep the property ready for showings. In the summer months, the air conditioning should be operational, and the yard maintained. We can arrange for lawn care or winter maintenance services if you desire.

We perform periodic property visits to check for any lease violations, tenant neglect, or obvious home maintenance issues that need attention. A move-in condition assessment report is completed when the tenant takes occupancy, detailing the property’s condition at the time of possession exchange. From then on, we conduct quarterly property visits throughout the lease term. Additional property visits can be arranged upon request for an additional fee or if we deem them necessary.

The final property visit, known as the ‘move-out assessment,’ occurs when the tenant(s) vacate your property and return possession. This assessment ensures that the tenants have restored the home to its move-in condition, accounting for normal wear and tear. If any damages are found beyond normal wear and tear, the estimated repair costs will be deducted from the tenant’s security deposit. Any remaining deposit will be refunded in accordance with Georgia law. Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. can assist with managing repairs or turnkey services under an active Exclusive Leasing Management and Brokerage Agreement.

We pride ourselves on a quick turnaround. We process the rents and statements on the 12th of each month, pending holidays and weekends. Our process is paperless, and each homeowner can access all their account information through a secure owner portal using their unique login email and password.

Many factors influence the leasing of a property. These include the property’s condition, location, rental price, age of the home, and whether it is dated or upgraded, among others. Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. cannot guarantee tenant placement within a specific timeframe. We believe that property owners would not want to settle for just ‘any’ tenant. We may receive multiple applications for a home before approving one. Quick tenant placement could result in higher costs in the long run. Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. is committed to finding quality tenants for our homeowners.

No, unless the rental agreement specifies that the landlord is responsible for pest control. Many landlords choose to pay for this service to ensure it is managed properly. If a tenant neglects their responsibility to treat the home and an infestation occurs, the cost to remedy the problem could exceed the expense of regular pest control services. If pest control is not stipulated in the lease, it may not be required of the landlord unless mandated by local housing or health codes. In severe cases, where the pest issue compromises the property’s condition, violating health and safety ordinances, the landlord may be obligated to intervene. Generally, we recommend that owners provide pest control services between tenancies, while tenants are responsible for maintaining pest control during their lease term.

Typically, tenants requiring furniture do not stay long-term. Furnished rental homes in Atlanta tend to attract students, first-time renters, and short-term corporate executives. A vacant rental home can diminish your ROI. To minimize vacancies, it’s best to market to longer-term tenants. In Atlanta, GA, rental occupancy rates are among the highest in the nation. tenants are staying longer, making your investment property their ‘home’ with their personal furniture, style, and decor.

If it is noted during the property visit that your tenant is not maintaining the property to the required standard, then a lease violation notice is issued, stating the items that need to be addressed. If these are not resolved within the stipulated timeframe, usually 10 days, we will contact you to discuss the next course of action. This may include issuing a termination notice requiring the tenants to vacate the premises.

Constructive eviction can occur as a result of the landlord’s breach of the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment. This may happen if: the tenant gives the landlord notice of the problem, and the landlord’s failure to repair has made the home unfit for the tenant to live in; the landlord substantially interferes with the tenant’s use and enjoyment of the premises through their actions or failure to act to resolve a problem; and the tenant vacates the property within a reasonable time after the landlord’s failure to address the problem.

An eviction is a lawsuit initiated by a landlord to regain possession of a rented property and to collect payment of overdue rent. The first step involves filing with the courts, where the tenant is served with a notice, and a trial may ensue. Many eviction lawsuits never reach trial, and fewer than 10% result in a monetary judgment. Evictions are recorded on a credit report only when there is a monetary judgment; however, many property managers erroneously believe that they can depend on the credit report to reveal all previous evictions. Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. accesses a nationwide eviction database for filings, ensuring that nearly all evictions are discovered during the screening process of an applicant.

We maintain the property and ensure the greatest return on your investment. Our services include, but are not limited to:

• Locating and screening prospective tenants
• Providing quarterly condition reports, including move-in and move-out condition reports
• Collecting, processing, and disbursing rents
• Process vendor invoices
• Reporting income to the IRS and providing 12-month income statements for tax purposes
• Managing routine maintenance, repairs, and turnkey operations
• And much more...

We believe that a 3-bedroom, 2-bath ranch-style home on a slab foundation, connected to public water and sewer, constitutes the ideal long-term rental property. Call us to find out why.

If you have decided to rent out your property, we cannot base the rental price solely on the amount of your mortgage payment. The Atlanta real estate rental market is experiencing gains in both occupancy and rents, supported by a limited supply of single-family homes, which helps sustain rental prices. To determine how much rent you should charge, please contact our team, who will be happy to assist.

The maintenance of the lawn and shrubbery at a rental property is the responsibility of the tenant unless otherwise stated. The homeowner is responsible for seasonal lawn care, such as fertilizing, weed control, and applying mulch or pine straw. Additionally, the homeowner is responsible for the trees on the property.

To reduce liability. Most homeowners and tenants have several keys to their property/home in circulation among friends, neighbors, house cleaning services, children, contractors, and real estate agents, not to mention keys that are hidden or forgotten around the exterior of the home. When a property changes hands, Platinum Property Management Services, Inc.'s due diligence includes safeguarding the new tenant’s right to privacy. As part of this, Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. will issue new keys to each new tenant at turnover and will retain a copy of that key. Furthermore, Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. contracts with a professional (licensed and insured) locksmith company to rekey all locks to match a single key, thereby adhering to security standards

It is common for homeowners not to have keys for all the locks in their homes or to have locks/deadbolts that are nonfunctional. Renting out your property increases the requirement to provide working locks on all doors and windows. As homeowners, we may tolerate broken locks, but as landlords, we need to ensure all locks are functional.

When you rent out your property, you transfer the ‘right of possession’ and promise ‘quiet enjoyment’ to another party. To protect homeowners/landlords from false accusations, owners of occupied properties may not enter unless accompanied by a Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. team member, and after proper notice has been given to the tenant(s). This reduces the liability of ‘unlawful entry’ and the disruption of the tenants’ ‘quiet enjoyment.

Many landlords choose to manage their properties themselves, and a number of them are highly successful. However, the time involved in placing tenants, collecting rents, managing repairs, and overseeing the tenants can often be more valuably spent elsewhere. Another important consideration is the legal aspect of property management. In our litigious society, legal expenses can accrue during your learning curve. Courts expect landlords to be knowledgeable about landlord-tenant law. Platinum Property Management Services, Inc. is well-versed in these laws and stays informed about the constantly changing federal and state mandates that govern them. Consider the following questions:

• Do you know all the landlord/tenant laws for your city, state, and federal government?
• Are you aware of rent values, vacancy factors, and the typical time on the market in your area?
• Do you have a rental application and consistent screening policies that meet all your legal obligations?
• Do you take the time to perform thorough move-in/move-out written assessments with supporting photos?
• Are you acquainted with reputable, licensed, and insured painters, plumbers, electricians, roofers, chimney cleaners, carpenters, furnace, and appliance vendors who are also affordable and reliable?
• Can you effectively communicate and negotiate with tenants and enforce the terms of your lease agreement?
• Are you prepared to be on call 24/7, 365 days a year? Special events, important meetings, or vacations do not relieve you of your obligation to respond.
• Do you have the capability to recover NSF payments and handle the accounting and record-keeping?