Other than choosing whether or not to accept tenants with pets, property owners cannot be involved in the tenant selection process.
To comply with fair housing law, we have to implement a standard, non-discriminatory process for tenant placement at all properties under our management. As …
We charge a flat tenant placement fee of $499. This fee is refunded in full if the tenant we place breaks their lease or is evicted.
Assuming your property is rent-ready and priced appropriately, we can generally find a tenant within six weeks.
Tenants evicted for nonpayment of rent will have a back balance when they leave. If you want to collect on the back balance, you'll have to hire a collections agency. Agencies typically take a 50% cut on any amount they recover.
Our debt collections partner is JJ Marshall.
Castle does not market units while a tenant is still living at the property, whether they're completing the lease term or in the process of an eviction.
In the handful of times when we have experimented with showing a unit with a tenant still occupying the home, we've experienced issues with …
When a tenant moves in, we prorate rent based on the move-in date. For example, if a tenant moves in on September 16 and their rent is $1,000, they would be living in the property for half the month and would owe half the normal rent amount ($500).
To ensure incoming tenants have the …
The lease agreement will state whether the landlord or tenant is responsible for the utilities. Most cities allow tenants to start accounts in their name, but a few cities mandate that the landlord keep utilities in their own name.
Tenants who do not pay their utility bills pose a …
Because it's much easier to find residents during the summer, we time our leases to end during warmer months. While we want our leases to be close to a year-long as possible, we adjust the duration in case we need to find a new tenant for your property. Ultimately, our goal is to provide a …
Currently, none of Castle's properties qualify for Section 8, and Castle does not work with any Section 8 programs as part of our standard tenant placement process.
We do sometimes work with Section 8 agencies when taking over management of a property that is already home to a Section 8 …
Responsibilities of both parties:
According to the Truth in Renting Act, the lease is the source of truth for all other responsibilities for the landlord and tenant, such as who pays for utilities and maintenance responsibilities.
Type of tenancy:
Most of lease agreements are for fixed-term …
We require vacant units to have utilities on for two reasons.
First, we need to make sure the utilities are in working order before a tenant tries to switch service into her name. If utilities are off when a tenant moves in, the utility providers may find issues like a faulty meter or a …
The only way to know for sure how much your property will rent for is to put it on the market and find out. However, we can generally make an estimate by looking at comps of other, similar properties in the area. Contact us and we’ll happily provide an estimate for your property.
When …
You can find a link to our standard lease agreement here.
Castle has a standard lease agreement for all properties at which we place a tenant, so you do not have to provide a lease. We've created this lease based on industry best practices, advice from our legal team, and our own experiences in the field.
Our listings are syndicated across a wide variety of sites, including (but not limited to): Zillow, Craigslist, Yahoo Homes, Trulia, Hotpads, Apartments.com, Lovely, and Zumper.
Additionally, applicants can view all our listings at listings.entercastle.com.
When properties are vacant, they are prime targets for theft. The most common crime is to break into a home, and steal the furnace and water heater from the basement.
Regularly attending to lawn care in the summer and snow removal in the winter, which Castle does for all vacant properties, …
Our tenant screening process is designed to ensure the placement of quality tenants who will treat our customer's properties well, and to treat all applicants justly, honestly, and in compliance with Fair Housing Laws.
We use the following criteria to screen tenants:
Criminal Report
We look …
It's your choice as the property owner whether or not to accept tenants with pets. If you do accept tenants with pets, we'll require the tenant to sign a Pet Agreement addendum to the lease outlining the additional responsibilities that come with a pet.
Please note that registered service …
There are several factors that drive demand for a property, but only two an owner has control over: quality and price.
For quality, there are often discretionary repairs or improvements an owner can make that will improve the appeal of the unit. For example, outdated kitchen decor and …
Our application process has five stages: