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1. Q: What type of properties are conducive for the Corporate Housing and Multi-Month Market?
A: We represent studios, cottages, condo, townhomes and single family homes. Occasionally,
we will consider an in-law apt if it has a seperate entrance, full kitchen and washer/dryer.
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2. Q: Do I have to accept pets?
A: Over 60 % of Americans now have pets and their pets are considered family.
Our owners that accept pets definitely have a higher occupancy rate than the
owners that do not accept pets. We do get an additional pet deposit
(fully refundable assuming no damages) and sometimes we can justify getting a pet rent.
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3. Q: What is the average lease term in Corporate Housing?
A: We have found that the average lease request is for 2-3 months and the average extension request is 2-3 months. However, things have changed a bit and we are getting more and more requests for 31 day leases. It is very important for you that if you live in a community in which there is a Home Owners’s Association, please check your by laws and rules and regulations to see if there is a minimum rental period accepted for your community.
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4. Q: How much can I get for my home?
A: The Rule of Real Estate also applies to Corporate Housing. Location, Location,
Location seems to be the most important factor in determining rental rates. Also,
please note we price properties to include furnishings and utilities
(heat/elec Wi-fi/Cable Water/Sewer and lawn maintenance) because the temporary
traveler wants a one pay system and doesn’t want to have to put utilities in their own name.
We price your property based on Location, condition, size and amenities and we will price them
based on our years of experience and to comparable properties on our registry.
Please look through our "Furnished Rentals" Tab to see if your home compares to others on our registry.
Once you click a picture, you can scroll through more pictures.
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5. Q: How do I prepare my home for the Corporate Traveler?
A: Our typical tenant is coming with their suitcase, computer and food. The average traveler is coming for a minimum of 31 days but could be here for a year or two. All closets and dressers should be cleared out for the traveler coming to stay an average of 2-3 months.
The kitchen should be a stocked with plenty of dishes and place settings conducive to the size
of your home. Plenty of space in the cabinets and pantry should be made for their food purchases.
The home should have a vacuum, an iron/ironing board and all the other essential things an extended guest would need. Many of our home owners choose to have a closet for personal belongings. This can include supplies such as paper towels, toilet paper, light bulbs, trash can liners and other essential items that should be put out between turnovers to get the next tenant started. It is not necessary for the owner to supply these things for the tenant’s ongoing occupancy.
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6. Q: Do you screen tenants?
A: Yes, we ask our prospective tenants to complete a credit app and we run that.
The results will come back with not only a credit rating but also a criminal background.
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7. Q: Do I get to see the lease or sign it?
A: Absolutely. After we have presented your property as an option..and if
the prospective tenant is interested, we run it by you verbally before producing
the lease. Once it is okayed by you, we draw up the lease with any applicable
addendum (i.e...pets) and send it to the tenant to review and sign first and
then you will sign it second.
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8. Q: How is rent collection handled?
A: All tenants will pay rents directly to Annapolis Corporate Housing either
on-line via credit cards through their rental portal or send us checks.
We have a system set up to send them friendly reminders each month about 5
days before their rent is due. In the unlikely event that their rent is late,
our software automatically assesses a 5% late fee according to Maryland State Law.
As your property manager, please know that we also manually audit all rents weekly
and will call or email our tenants as soon as rent is late.
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9. Q: How are the monies disbursed to me?
A: Once we have received the rent from the tenant, we will process a payment
out to you via our Escrow account. This is normally done within 5 days after
receiving the rent from the tenant. On your stub, you will get a summary of the
rent period, less any deductions such as our commission or any handyman or other
such services that you approved previously.
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10. Q: Do you sell real estate too?
A: We do not sell real estate. However,
we have trusted agents in which we can refer you to.
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11. Q: How much security deposit do you charge the tenant?
A: Corporate Housing is an alternative to an extended hotel stay and the hotels
do not charge Security Deposits although they do get a credit card guarantee.
We have found that because we do a good screening process, we do not need to
charge as much as you would think. Normally, we charge $1000 - $2000 depending
on the size of the home. We have a seperate account at our bank in which we hold
Security Deposits. We pride ourselves in returning 96% of all Security Deposits
in full to our tenants because they tend to take very good care of our owners’
properties.
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12. Q: How soon can you start managing my property?
A: If your home meets the needs of the customer and is up to the standards
mentioned above for the corporate or interim guest, we can get a Marketing
Agreement together. Then, we can begin marketing your property immediately. It
may take some time but then again, we may be able to book it quickly as we get
new requests every day.
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13. Q: What is the likelihood of my property being rented?
A: Between relocations, retirees visiting their families, legislators looking for rentals near the Statehouse, and families in transition due to damage to their home, we have renters looking for space beginning tomorrow or within the next few months. Although some demands are seasonal, during the summer or the beginning of the year, we have requests coming in daily. It may take time to get the first tenant but we try to book as quickly as possible. This varies depending on the location of your property.
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14. Q: What's Next?
A: If you would like to have us come out to your home for a complete assessment, we have what's called a List Consultation. We do charge for our time out of the office as well as the amount of time we spend back at the office to "load" your property on to our many advertising sites. The cost of the List Consultation is $195. If you would like full professional photos, an additional charge of $200-$350 is required to pay the photographer. If you have high quality and current photos, you can email them to us after the List Consultation. If you would like to set up a List Consulation, please contact us at 410-271-1311.