OPTIMIZED LEASING AND TUROVER OPERATIONS
Performing a property turnover is the least fun part of property management. Fraught with ambiguous regulations, unforgiving security deposit laws, and tenant conflict, it’s no wonder why turnovers are the most stressful part of owning a rental property.
Through the years Boomtown has developed extensive best practices to reduce vacancy rates and the cost of turnovers, while successfully defending our security deposit administration and accounting. Boomtown owners don’t need to lift a finger – we take care of all the details, provide detailed inspection reports and property condition videos to make sure all our property owners are kept in the loop.
Lease End Notifications and Timeline
Boomtown takes an active role in negotiating new leases and advising our property owners on potential rent increases before the end of a lease. We adhere to a detailed timeline to reduce vacancy when a lease is not renewed.
Days 90-100 (Before Lease End):
Perform rental market analysis to advise property owners on potential rent increases
Day 90 (Before Lease End):
Advise property owners on potential rent increases and confirm lease terms
Day 60 – 90 (Before Lease End):
Approach tenants with offer to extend lease or offer new lease with rent increase
Day 60 (Before Lease End):
Tenants’ required to sign a new lease – Boomtown begins to market and show unsigned properties for rent.
Day 15 (Before Lease End):
Projected date for new signed lease.
Day 0 (Lease End):
Perform move-out inspection and develop turnover scope of work
Day 0 – 15 (After Lease End):
Approve and execute turnover scope of work
Day 15 (After Lease End):
Perform move-in inspection – new tenant move-in
MOVE-OUT INSPECTION AND PROPERTY DAMAGE CLASSIFICATION
Identifying and classifying damage to a rental unit is probably the most difficult and important part of any move-out process.
During the move-out process a detailed inspection is produced and compared with the move-in inspection to determine any new damage to the property. All damage is recorded and when necessary, compared to the move-in video to make a final determination if the damage noted is new or was existing before a tenancy. It is extremely important to be judicious when classifying rental property damage, which is why we use inspections with still pictures as well as videos to make the best determination. Additionally, property owners are welcomed conduct their own walk-through after the final inspection to answer any follow-on question they have regarding the condition of the property. Finally, all residents are welcomed to ask questions or provide documentation to support a dissenting point of view. In the end Boomtown takes on the responsibility and liability associated with the security deposit administration. We do all we can to facilitate the most equitable outcome using facts supported by the work products produced throughout the tenancy.
Below are examples of how Boomtown classifies damage during each inspection.
Resident Responsible Repair (Tenant pays, damage beyond normal wear and tear):
Damage to a leased property, beyond normal wear, undocumented in a move-in inspection. Usually associated with tenant neglect or abuse.
Normal wear and tear standards used when available through pamphlets published by local municipalities
Required Repair (Owner pays):
Wear on a leased property, unrelated to tenant neglect or abuse, that must be corrected.
Any repairs that affect the residents’ health or safety (e.g., mold, rodents / insects, water leaks, etc.)
Any repairs that affect the long-term habitability of a home (e.g., untreated plumbing leaks, leaks in roof, etc.)
Required by law (e.g., Lead Paint Certification, Smoke / CO Detectors, etc.)
Suggested Repair (Owner pays at his or her discretion):
Wear on a leased property, unrelated to a tenant, that should be corrected, but does not need to be immediately corrected.
Items not specifically covered in the lease, but could affect the residents’ quality of life.
Items that would affect the marketability of a leased unit if unoccupied (e.g., staining deck, power washing siding to remove pollen / dust, repainting an odd colored room, etc.).
Capital Expense Budgeting (Owner pays):
Large improvements on a property required every 5-30 years
Examples:
Repainting entire interior / changing colors
Replacing carpet / flooring
Replacing windows
Condition Note:
Wear on a leased property, unrelated to a resident, that does not need to be corrected, but must be noted so future residents are not charged.
Items that would not affect the tenants’ quality of life, but could be considered tenant responsible in the future if not noted (e.g., noticeable scratches or cracks on hard surface flooring, small areas of discoloration on carpet, etc.)
Organize and Execute Turnover Work
We utilize our experience and resources to develop a clear scope of work and consult with our owners to add value with each turnover.
It’s been said the best contractors don’t advertise (because they don’t need to). One of the biggest financial benefits of allowing Boomtown to manage your property is access to our extensive network of professional tradesmen and our company’s deep knowledge of cost benchmarking. Boomtown was founded (and is still owned / managed) by real estate investors. At our very core is the idea that turnover work needs to enhance the property for the expressed purpose of increasing revenue while keeping expenses down. Well maintained homes are always in high demand, which produces low tenant turnover. Low turnover means higher revenue, less placement fees, less turnover costs, and more profits.
24/7 Automated Marketing
At Boomtown we’ve developed a proprietary automated system to respond to and collect information from prospective residents 24/7 – our automated leasing office never closes.
A typical leasing office employs a single person who answers the phone, responds to emails, responds to third-party inquiries (e.g., Zillow, Trulia, Hot Pads, etc.) and usually works from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. So what’s the problem? While the leasing agent is on the phone with one lead answering questions and conducting an initial screening (usually 15-20 mins), he or she might have missed one or two more leads (maybe better qualified). Using this model each leasing agent is limited to the number of leads they can reply to each day. Likewise, when the leasing agent responds to inquiries submitted after-hours or over the weekend these leads become stale and the initial excitement for your property wanes with each passing hour. Conversely, each Boomtown lead (via phone call, or ANY third-party website) receives a response within seconds (not days) with clear directions on how to provide additional information and get scheduled for a showing using our automated form which is texted or emailed to them in real-time.
Leasing agents rarely respond to all inquiries (especially voicemails). Unfortunately, the truth is most leasing agents don’t have enough time to respond to and qualify all the inquiries that are submitted. 100% of Boomtown leads receive an instant response to keep our prospective tenant “funnel” wide-open 365/24/7. Using our unique processes and proprietary software we’re able to quickly identify the most qualified leads for each listing and bring them through the qualification processes faster than anyone.
Boomtown syndicates to 30+ paid rental marketing websites at no additional expense to our property owners. Prospective tenants can give preferred times for showings online to expedite the leasing process.
Prescreening And Showing Process
Pre-screening prospective tenants allow us to focus on leads that meet the property owner’s timeline and requirements.
Boomtown pre-screenings prospective tenants using self-reported information before each showing. Pre-screening allows us to process the largest number of prospective tenants while allowing our team to focus on qualified candidates.
Boomtown managed properties are shown exclusively by Boomtown employees. Boomtown does not utilize self-showing services; however, we can accommodate and are efficient at virtual showings if preferred by our prospective tenants due to distance or COVID-19 concerns.
Move-In Process
Our healthy paranoia extends beyond the screening process to provide physical security for our tenants and to shield our property owners from liability.
100% of our properties are required to use SmartKey technology to allow each property to be rekeyed between tenants – without the added cost of a locksmith. Additionally, all the codes to garage door openers are zeroed-out and reprogrammed – including keypads. During the move-in process all items noted in the move-out inspection are reinspected to ensure they are complete and finished to our high standards. A new inspection is produced with time, date, and GPS stamped photos for future reference, and a move-in video is produced as a safeguard to adjudicate any discrepancies that arise at the end of the lease.