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How do you screen potential tenants?
After obtaining written consent from a prospective tenant, we make standard inquiries to prior landlords, mortgage companies, bank references and Equifax. We also make additional inquiries as individual circumstances require.
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How much security deposit do you require and what type of account is it in?
On annual rentals, the security deposit required is equal to one months rent. On seasonal rentals, we generally require
at least $800, but the amount is variable based on the amount of the rent. Security deposits are required by law to be held in an escrow account.
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What if I don't want to rent to families with children?
Then you probably should not rent your unit at all. While a good portion of our customer base are retirees with no children, we cannot guarantee anything as to the ages of occupants. Indeed, Federal Fair Housing Laws explicitly prohibit any discriminating practices in this area (as well as race, creed, color, religion, country of origin, sex, familial status or handicap). Be advised that if you do decide to rent out your home or condominium, we will show it to anyone who requests such a home within its price range. We will never allow any type of discrimination, and not merely because it is the legal way to do business. We support these laws, and feel that honoring them in both the spirit and the letter of the law is the fair, ethical and right thing to do.
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Do I need insurance when I rent my home?
Sadly, the truth is that there is an element of legal risk when you rent out your home. We require a copy of a suitable insurance policy that covers liability on rental property. You will need to talk to your insurance agent and arrange for this before we can accept your property into our list of available properties. This is, however, a relatively painless process, and your insurance agent should be able to take most of the hassle out of it.
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Where do you advertise?
You are reading this, so you already know that we advertise on the web. We also buy advertising in the local papers (there are two major ones in this market), in real estate guides and in Chamber of Commerce publications. Fliers and brochures are used at all area hotels.
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What about sales tax?
Any lease that has a term of expiration under six months requires a payment of Transient and Tourism Tax. These are paid by the tenant to us, and we remit the payments directly to the appropriate County and State agencies. Both the tenant and the property owner are not burdened with worrying about filing any of the forms or making payments.
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Can my family and friends use my unit?
Absolutely. You must notify us in advance, however, so that we don't rent it out for that time period.
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What about if an eviction becomes necessary?
Due to our screening process,
this happens exceedingly rarely. Not only is it a major nuisance to the owner of
a unit, such a situation can be very disruptive to our business. For that
reason, we take great pains to see that evictions are an unnecessary option.
However, there remains the possibility of circumstances that may have to,
unfortunately, be resolved in this manner. An eviction in Florida usually takes
30 to 45 days, depending on court dates and times, and we are knowledgeable in
this area.
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