Being married to a State Department officer, living overseas and also being a homeowner I have had my share of experience with renting out our home and dealing with a property management company. 

Having the right person here on the ground to look after your most valued possession is absolutely important and your experience will depend a lot on the person managing your property. 

Currently I manage properties in Reston, Herndon, Vienna, Sterling, Ashburn, Leesburg and Alexandria. 

Most of my latest properties came to me as a referral from already existing clients. Being referred is the highest compliment I can get and as a result of me supporting my clients wherever I can, thinking outside of the box and trying to over deliver.

What does it mean having me as your property manager?

Full listing and leasing service

If you have not already rented out your home or were not able to locate tenants on your own, I am happy to do this for you. Photos and a video tour for the listing is included in my service. I am extremely responsive to incoming showing requests and also host Open Houses for rentals. 

Why Open houses? 

Because it creates competition, can end in a bidding war and increase your rent. It also gives me the chance to meet prospective tenants, which I always find interesting. My ads will be placed on the Multiple Listing Service and distributed to all the major websites. I will handle all communication, coordinate the application process and provide you with the prospective tenant’s information. Once you have decided, to whom you would like to offer a lease, I will take care of all the contracts, conduct a thorough move-in inspection report and provide the documents to you and your new tenants.  

What happens after your tenant has moved in?

I take care of the daily business and tenants requests. I also coordinate repairs or replacements if an appliance is broken. For example if your roof needs to be replaced, I will also organize this for you and oversee the work.

What does this cost you?

Globe Trotter Properties charges 8% commission of your monthly rent and I get paid from GTP. There are no other hidden costs. Some companies charge homeowners for different services, for example if your property is vacant. I don’t. I see it as a normal curtesy to stop by once a week, check on the property and let some water down the drains. 

What else will I do for you?

I offer to coordinate for my clients a routine maintenance check for their HVAC system in the spring and in the fall. Like regular car maintenance, these service checks should be standard to prolong the life of your HVAC system. Since I organize this for most of my clients, I get a bulk discount from the contractor and instead of charging $90 - $120 my contractor does it for about $59.95. 

I will visit your property every 6 month for a periodic inspection. At this time, I will check how the tenants are treating your home and if all repairs have been reported. After the inspection is done you will receive my report with pictures. 

Experience shows these visits are very important and should be industry standard. Some tenants will treat your home differently if they know somebody will stop by and check on the property every 6 months.  

I know many companies say that’s included, but you will never receive a report, sometimes even if you ask for it. 

When you interview a property management company you should always ask who your property manager will be and how many properties he/she manages. In some companies one person is responsible for 150 units. What do you think, can this person be thorough and care for your home like you do? Even if there is a back office who organizes the repairs, the lady in your office has never seen your house. From my experience I can only say having one person taking care of everything and managing only 20 properties is the better way.

If you are interested in hearing more about my services as your property manager please contact me at any time.