RENTAL PROPERTIES, PROPERTY MANAGEMENT & LEASE PURCHASES

RE/MAX Agent Responsibilities
Please review the following agent responsibilities for rental and property management situations.  Additional detail can be found in the RMAA Policy and Procedures Manual.

Property Management Responsibilities                                                   Any Associate dealing in property management shall:

1. prepare a statement of account for each client at least annually
   
2. perform annual audits or reviews of any trust accounts that he or she manages
   
3. not personally perform any physical maintenance on the property – this is NOT covered under the Broker’s insurance policies
   
4. maintain a log identifying the date, time and nature of any tenant complaints
   
5. maintain a log identifying the dates, status and nature of maintenance or repair work orders
   
6. have a procedure to become familiar with Fair Housing Laws
   
7. Optional: Set up an account with ClearNow for the purpose of collecting rent and distributing rents to Owners and management fees to Company. The Company will not collect and process rental payments without prior written approval by the Broker
   

Property Management CE Courses

• Any Associate who desires to enter into a property management listing agreement with a prospective landlord shall complete CE courses on both property management and Fair Housing Laws prior to entering into the listing agreement unless he or she has experience in property management of at least one year.  
  

Properties Owned and Managed by a RMAA agent or associate broker.

1. Associates shall immediately notify the Company of any rental properties that are owned or managed by the Associate.  Any properties owned and managed by the Associate must be managed through the Company or an approved Property Management firm.  
   
2. If the Associate has a trust account, he/she shall register the trust account with the Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC) on the appropriate forms and report once a month to the Broker a reconciled bank statement showing the disposition of all security deposits or trust funds held in or disbursed from that account.  The Company holds a rental trust account and strongly urges Associates to allow the Company to hold any rental trust funds.  
   

Rental Applications

• Rental applications or any other documentation containing sensitive personal or financial information should not be obtained, provided, collected or stored by Associate or Broker.  Associates should advise owners to use an outside service for assessing rental applicants such as TransUnion Smart Move.  This site allows the tenant to enter their own information and pay for the background/credit check, and it emails the results to the Associate and/or the landlord.  This alleviates the collection of the application fee as well as the liability of having access to social security numbers, bank account information and job history.  Access this website at:  https://rii.mysmartmove.com/.  Associates should never make rental decisions on behalf of the landlord.  Those decisions should fall solely on the owner and must not violate any Fair Housing Laws.
  

Move-In, Move-Out Inspection Form

• The Move-In, Move-Out Inspection Form is a requirement for every lease.  The body of the lease states that the Move-In, Move-Out Inspection Form is provided to the tenant prior to the tenant “tendering a Security Deposit” and is attached as an exhibit.  When representing the tenant, an Associate should request this document prior to the tenant tendering a security deposit.  When representing the landlord in a rental transaction, it is best practice to have the landlord complete the document upon listing so that it can be provided to any potential tenants.  Associates should also recommend that the landlord and tenant take pictures of the property’s condition prior to leasing it and attach them to the Move-In Statement if warranted. Associates should never complete the Move-In, Move-Out Agreement on behalf of a landlord or tenant.
  

Security Deposits
Security Deposits should be held by the landlord unless the Company is under a Property Management Agreement with the Landlord.  The appropriate GAR form should be used in any lease where the Company is the Holder of the security deposit.  In the rare situations where the Company is to be identified as the Holder of the Security Deposit while NOT managing the property, the Associate must:

1. Check with a Broker to discuss the situation and get our approval to hold it prior to completing the lease.
   
2. Actually have the security deposit in hand before indicating in the lease that the Broker is holding it.  If not, Associate must include in the lease a special stipulation about it being provided later.
   
3. Ensure that the Move-In Inspection has been completed by Landlord and provided to the Tenant.  Georgia law prohibits the acceptance of the security deposit prior to the Landlord providing a completed Move-In Inspection to the Tenant.
   
4. Include the following special stipulation in the GAR lease states: “Although RE/MAX Around Atlanta (Holder) is the Holder of the security deposit it shall be the Landlord’s responsibility to prepare the Move-Out Statement in accordance with this agreement and to provide it via email to Tenant and Holder within the timeframe set forth therein.  If the Landlord does not provide a Move-Out Statement within the time frame and Holder has not been notified that the lease has been extended or renewed, Holder will disburse the entire Security Deposit to the Tenant by the Due Date.  Notice of extension or renewal of this lease shall be sent to Holder by Landlord via email prior to the expiration of this agreement. If Tenant agrees with Move-Out Statement, Tenant shall sign, initial and deliver via email the executed agreement to Holder and Landlord within 5 banking days of receipt and Holder will refund the security deposit to Tenant less any charges detailed therein.  For the purposes of this paragraph, Holder’s email address is [email protected]  and Tenant’s and Landlord’s email addresses are listed on the signature page of this Agreement.  Tenant and Landlord authorize Holder to mail any balance of security deposit to the following addresses: Tenant: ________________, Landlord___________________.”
   

Lease Purchase Agreements Not Recommended
Broker advises against the use of Lease Purchases in relation to a real estate transaction.  In situations where a tenant wants to establish a right to purchase rented property, it is best to execute a Residential Lease and an Option Agreement. 

Broker Corner
July 14, 2023

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