Our Property Management Services

Utilizing the services of a professional Property Management company in South Bay relieves you from the burden of unexpected and untimely tenant and repair issues. It also provides you with a tested and true vendor team (via your property manager) to handle repair and maintenance issues at your home. Having a Property Manager handling the details of managing your rental home allows you to focus your time and talents on other matters instead of worrying about your rental property.

We like to keep the majority of our portfolio located in the Almaden Valley and its surrounding areas. This includes Almaden Valley, Blossom Valley, Cambrian, Santa Teresa, Willow Glen, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Cupertino and Sunnyville.

Exceptions are made if you own multiple rental properties including some that are located in Almaden Valley and some that are not, call us to discuss whether we can handle your group of properties. We do sometimes make exceptions for the right properties and owners.

We have been leasing homes in the San Jose area for over 10 years and have leased to more than 1,200 tenants in Santa Clara County and helped hundreds of owners with property management services for their rental property.

National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM)

We have been a member of the Santa Clara County Chapter of NARPM since 2006 and representing the Santa Clara County Chapter of NARPM as President in 2012 and 2019, providing educational workshops and training for property managers locally and nationwide.

Santa Clara County Association of Realtors (SCCAOR)

California Association of Realtors (CAR)

No matter which company you choose to manage your rental home in Santa Clara County, make sure you pick a property manager who is serious about the profession of property management. Many property managers operate as a sideline business or an afterthought to their sales business, and make no effort to stay educated or updated on landlord/tenant laws or current industry practices.

We manage quality single-family homes and duplexes that are in good to excellent condition. We also manage individually owned townhomes and condominiums. Another way to say it is; we manage safe, well-maintained homes that attract well-qualified renters.

We stay within the customs of Santa Clara County, and our competition, and normally require between 90% to 110% of a full month’s rent.

Each time your home comes up for rent, we will perform a market analysis to determine how much homes similar to yours have been renting for recently. Once we determine a starting value, we add or subtract based on the time of year, competition from other available rentals near yours, the condition of the property (older vs. newer carpet, age of appliances, floor plan, etc.), and other relevant market factors.

As a general rule, we believe it’s a good idea to price your rental property at or slightly below the competition and get it rented quickly. Vacancy is your worst enemy and we work hard to prevent excess vacancy loss.

Additionally, we stay very tuned in to the rental market all across Santa Clara County and provide feedback to you on how much activity we are receiving on your property (i.e. calls, emails, showings, applicants)

Exposure and good photos are the name of the game. We market your home for rent as follows:

• Listed on our website at www.almaden4rent.com.
• Social Media
• Top rental websites some including:

1. Zillow.com
2. Trulia.com
3. Zumper.com
4. Apartments.com
5. Rentals.com

• work closely with relocation agents and local corporations

We require tenants to provide at least three years of good verifiable rental history (or proof of home ownership), good credit, and verifiable income at least 3 times the monthly rent.

Rental History

We contact the applicant’s current/previous landlords and ask about the applicant’s payment history, whether there were bounced checks, late payments, and whether they would rent to them again.

Income Verification

We require written income verification in the form of a recent paycheck stub or, if self-employed we require their three most recent bank statements to verify the amount of deposits for each month. Income must be at least three times the monthly rent to qualify.

Credit Report

All applicants 18 or older are required to complete a rental application and be screened. We run a complete credit report and unlawful detainer check (eviction) on each applicant.

All non-emergency repair requests are reported to us through their tenant portal or by contacting us. We provide tenants a convenient online portal to submit maintenance requests. We strive to respond to and complete most ordinary maintenance requests within 1 to 3 business days.

Repairs and property condition issues offer the greatest opportunity for friction and ill will between landlords and tenants. A property manager walks the line between a tenant who wants things fixed ASAP, and an owner who is sensitive to repair expenses. We in fact want the tenant to enjoy a well maintained home in which everything functions as designed and intended. It’s to your advantage that this happens, as a happy tenant is more likely to remain in and care for the property at renewal.

In many instances, we will troubleshoot with the tenant about the issue and attempt to solve the maintenance request prior to completing a work order with a vendor. This is commonly accomplished with problems such as tripped breakers or GFI outlets (reset breaker), malfunctioning garage openers (check the eyebeams), disposals (reset button), dishwashers (wall switch), HVAC (thermostat not set properly, filter door loose or intake blocked), etc.

This by the way is where we as a smaller company can offer a more personal level of repair troubleshooting and diagnosis than a large property management company with an impersonal “repair pipeline” process. Essentially, before spending your money on a service call, we attempt to troubleshoot and solve the problem. Once it’s determined that a legitimate problem exists, and that a service call is needed, we send a vendor who we have probably been using for more than 10 years and whom we trust to take care of the problem.

No. We write into every lease, for every property we manage, a “no smoking” policy.

Nothing affects the reputation of a property management company more than the manner in which repairs are handled. Tenants judge us by almost no other measure. It therefore makes little sense to entrust vendors we don’t know, whom we have no relationship with or control over, with the reputation of our company and the relationship with your tenant. Instead, when repairs are needed, we will send our trusted vendors with whom established relationships and excellent communication exists, and they will provide the quality service we require in a professional and timely manner.

Your monthly proceeds will be electronically deposited directly into your bank account each month on or before the 25th as well as your Owner Statements, which will be emailed as well.

We will visit your home to make sure it meets our condition requirements. Then we will send you a management agreement and initiate the process of assuming management of your property.

We will pay your recurring gardening service, pool service, maintenance invoices and any other bill or invoice generated as a result of repairs to your property with the exception of mortgage, HOA, utilities, property tax bills or insurance payments.

We will be happy to invite them to join us as a preferred vendor, if they are qualified and insured, but we can’t promise that a specific vendor will be dispatched to your home for certain repairs.