This page lists all the documents you will ever need dealing with new owners. There is a link to find it for sale, and then under that is a download button for members. Contact us if you need full access membership.
I. Property Management Agreement Packages
A. Customized PMA Documents (Package # 1)
Crown turned to a customized PMA in 1990 after trying for 10 years to make our state association forms work. We struggled with having to twist what we wanted to do into a one-size-fits-all standard form, crafted by our state association forms committee. Clearly the forms committee is made up of the very best sales brokers and trainers in Georgia, but few of them embrace property management or have demonstrated being highly profitable at it. Most despise it and would rather focus on the big money of real estate sales. Once we reached page three of special stips (trying to address all the things they missed) we caved in, and with the help of attorney Monica Gilroy, crafted a document that has been tweaked, refined and perfected for the last 25 years. We’ve had this document on a web site for colleagues to download and have dozens of managers using it .. or, Their Modification and Personalization Of It.
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Crown turned to a customized PMA in 1990 after trying for 10 years to make our state association forms work. We struggled with having to twist what we wanted to do into a one-size-fits-all standard form, crafted by our state association forms committee. Clearly the forms committee is made up of the very best sales brokers and trainers in Georgia, but few of them embrace property management or have demonstrated being highly profitable at it. Most despise it and would rather focus on the big money of real estate sales. Once we reached page three of special stips (trying to address all the things they missed) we caved in, and with the help of attorney Monica Gilroy, crafted a document that has been tweaked, refined and perfected for the last 25 years. We’ve had this document on a web site for colleagues to download and have dozens of managers using it .. or, Their Modification and Personalization Of It.
Note: When Realogy (the largest real estate company in the world) bought us out, we expected their lawyers to carve up our management agreement and put in their own language. They did not. They tweaked it just a little and adopted about 95% of what we’ve been using (and many of our students have been using) for the past 10 years, a testimony to the strength of our documents.
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These documents were originally drafted in 1990 by our attorneys at McCalla, Raymer where we were clients since 1980. Since then it has been tweaked, edited, updated, revised, sharpened and perfected to protect us from every known danger of property management. Revisions have been driven by the ever changing license law, landlord tenant law, federal and state law changes and our experiences. Every time we drop the ball and screw something up (which was a lot over 35 years) we made changes in this agreement. Our attorney, Monica Gilroy, of The Gilroy Firm (formerly of McCalla Raymer) has made changes in this document as recently as the summer of 2018. It is undoubtedly the best CYA management agreement you could ever use and full of revenue-generating strategies. Since this agreement was written by our attorney (a landlord/tenant litigation expert) to protect us, it goes a long way to shutting down opportunities for litigation against any manager.
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There are certain things you must train your owner to expect from you as a manager. This is your frst chance to give them a list of all the things you will do for the monthly management fee. At the same time, you have a first chance to show them a list of things which are separate and only performed for a fee. Our Scope of Service Package goes into these things in great detail, but this document sets the table for future discussions betwen you and the owner.
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B. Housekeeping Documents (Package # 2)
Any moisture issues the owner has had in (and around) the property, in the past five years, needs to be disclosed to the tenant before they take possession. You need to notify the tenant if the owner has had a flood, leak, mold, water damage etc. Failure to disclose this can have serious consequences and we’ve fought several battles with tenants over this disclosure. Make sure the owner signs this and have the tenant sign a copy before they move in.
Tenants get irate when they discover ‘the owner had moisture/mold issues and wet basement with previous tenants’ (or while they lived there) and feel deceived when it’s not disclosed before they took possession. When tenants feel tricked or deceived they talk to lawyers. The manager usually ends up being blamed by the tenant and ends up sharing in their moving costs.
Owners don’t think to tell you ‘unless you ask’ so be sure to make an issue out of this. We’ve been burned more than once over this failure to ask, and get hold harmless agreements from the owner. You can use the same owner signed original over and over again so ‘don’t use the original.’ Make copies for future tenants to execute.
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Tell your owner/client clearly about your trust account requirements and how your state law regulates the management of those funds. NEVER cover their expenses and send them an invoice or you’ll be bankrolling them forever. Make it clear they need to pre-fund maintenance, maintain a minimum account balance (owner reserve) and keep all trust accounts positive. Let them know you will be depositing all funds you receive into a trust account and report to them monthly. This disclosure takes care of all those issues and gives you a document to point back to when they resist depositing money with you before you pull the trigger on normal maintenance and turnkey projects. This is often hard to manage because owners want to stay in control. They want to pay off an invoice, after the job is done, and they verify it. After the job is done is never the time to argue about money.
Set this up right and you’ll have no trouble with the administration of your owner’s trust account. Make it clear that you intend to follow the licensing and trust account laws of your state and they need to embrace and cooperate with that effort or find another manager. You are no different than a bank, brokerage house or sales company. You must follow the rules of your licensing bureau and ‘having the money in the owners trust account BEFORE you order the work’ is part of that compliance issue.
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Owners love to leave personal property behind thinking it will still be there when they return. It seldom is and guess who they want to hold responsible for protecting and managing it? YOU of course. No matter what you say to them, they think you should be the guardian of their stuff, and see to it that it gets returned in good shape. Protect yourself. Take yourself off the hook in advance and make it clear ‘you’re not the manager of their personal property.’ For years we tried to accomplish this with a stip in the management agreement but it didn’t work. You need to draw their special attention to this Issue and this document accomplishes that.
This document tells them to take their personal property out or don’t expect to see it ever again. They will leave stuff locked in a closet in the basement and expect you to manage it as well. They will expect you to manage the water leaks and mold on their stuff in their Owner’s Closet and blame you when the rodents find their way in. Make it clear you’ll list items they leave behind but they can’t hold you accountable when it turns up missing or broken.
Note: when the sheriff and his boys start tossing out the tenant’s stuff they seldom ask “is this yours, or the owners.” You need this document to protect yourself.
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One of the huge risks managers bare today is renting a property, move the family in, then watching as it goes into foreclosure and the tenant gets evicted by the lender. We’ve had it happen more than we’d like to admit. If you don’t protect yourself you will get sued by the tenant for violation of your promise of quiet enjoyment, unlawful dispossessory or constructive eviction. When the owner signs this document they are promising the mortgage is current; if it goes into foreclosure they will notify you immediately (not that it will help any), and (here is the big one) they will pay your attorney fees if you get sued by the tenant over the foreclosure issues. Don’t make the mistake of thinking, “if the owner loses the home in a foreclosure they won’t have any money to defend you, so why go through the effort.” Wrong!!!
Many landlords have great credit, own their own home, have good paying jobs and will still let their rentals go into foreclosure. Don’t think they are broke just because they let the rental go back to the bank. Having them defend you is good protection and they will sign this without question if they think they will not be foreclosed on. If they hesitate signing this you should be suspicious and do more research. Get this signed up front and protect yourself from the carnage of a foreclosure.
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The IRS requires that you report to them (with a copy to your owner) at the end of every year, regarding how much rent you collected from the tenant on their behalf. Your report is due to the IRS before January 31st and the penalties against YOU for failure to report are substantial. This is the document the owner signs acknowledging this report and your requirement to send it to the IRS. Make sure they sign it or you will have a very unhappy owner when you do your reporting.
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Houses built before 1978 often had lead in the paint which has been discovered to be toxic and a serious health hazard for kids under 8 and pregnant women. Federal law requires that you have the owner and tenant sign this to disclose the potential presence of (or lack of) this poison in the home. The owner signs this document to reveal to you (and the tenant) any knowledge they have regarding any lead paint in their home. Copy the original the owner signs and have every tenant sign (a copy) before you move them in. Use the same original over and over. Just have the tenant sign a copy and keep it with other important tenant documents.
Every one of these documents is the result of getting burned, blamed, fined or fired for something we either didn’t do right or didn’t disclose adequately. You can have your attorney draft each of these documents and tweak them over the next 10 years as you go through your learning curves, or, download them and be up and running instantly. It’s not a matter of IF you’ll need them, but WHEN. Protecting Yourself is a full time effort in property management.
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Never manage a rental unless the owner/client adds your company name to their landlord policy as an additional insured. This is standard practice for the insurance companies and will do it at no cost to your client. When this authorization is signed by the owner you’ll send it to their insurance agent who will add you on the policy and send you a declaration page (Dec Page) evidencing your coverage. Don’t manage the property without it. Other managers understand this and so does the insurance carrier. It’s the owner that is new to this process. Don’t let the owner talk you out of it.
E&O policies and General Liability policies for property managers often mandate that this is in place or your coverage is diminished (or voided). You’re not covered for property damage because you don’t own the property. You’re just covered for liability when someone is caught in a fire, falls off the deck or drowns in the tub. We’ve had all these things happen and the owner’s policy covered us instead of our GL policy. Make it clear to the owner that insurers understand this and will add you without cost.
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You’ll need a form for the owner to describe all the features of their property including number of bedrooms, baths, schools, community amenities, which appliances are included, utilities included and other features. Don’t let them ‘push this off on you.’ If there is an error they will blame YOU and THEY should have the information in THEIR files. Often you’ll advertise a property with a washer/dryer and the owner will take it, leaving you to buy one for the tenant (or other crazy things like this). We’ve made the mistake many times of identifying the wrong schools, listing the microwave when the owner takes them, forgetting that the security system was the tenant's expense and so on. There are lots of ways to screw this up so make the owner complete it. There is more than one way to do this. This format is sufficient for most rental houses but will need to be tweaked by you to fit your model.
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This document gives you the authority to automatically credit and debit funds from the owner’s account as necessary and remains in effect until you receive written notice to discontinue.
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This document helps clarify ownership, who’s speaking for the owner(s) (or entity). This is a data-collection form.
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We all add stipulations in a lease that we know in advance can’t be monitored, tracked or enforced. Occasionally we take over someone else's lease and find stipulations that are not trackable, measurable or enforceable. Examples might include: no pets over 10 pounds or no indoor pets, no smoking, set temperature at 70° during cold weather, tenant agrees to change the furnace filter every month, guests can only stay three days and tenant agrees to water the shrubbery. These types of stipulations are impossible to monitor, measure and enforce and disclosing this to the owner lowers the risk of the manager being sued for professional liability or malpractice when they leave these items in the lease and the manager has no way to track them.
Note: If you use the Crown lease, you don’t need this package because we don’t put untrackable and unenforceable language of this nature in the lease.
Here’s the problem.
Owners naturally believe if it’s In the lease, it’s enforceable and will hold it against their manager if not enforced. Owners think you’re the expert and they are paying you to get it right and draft leases that are enforceable. It is incumbent on YOU to get it right and make it legal and enforceable or YOU are going to be blamed if it hits the fan.
To protect yourself you must remove (or at least lower) this liability from your company by either removing this kind of language from the lease or disclosing the reality of the lack of tracking and enforcing it to your owner . You may want to make this a housekeeping document to be signed by the owner when you take on a new property. You could use this language in an owner newsletter or annual report and disclosure. One way or another you should send it out (maybe more than once a year) to remind owners that these kinds of stipulations, although added in most leases, cannot be tracked, monitored, or enforced . This is one more CYA document to protect your company from the many liabilities of this business; especially liability from an angry owner expecting lease terms to be enforced.
This product includes the disclosure language to the owner and a training document for the manager and their staff regarding how and when to implement this document.
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Every office needs to develop an internal tracking form to assure all the owner sign up documents are in the file and all the issues have been addressed.
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C. Ancillary Documents (Package # 3)
Owners will forget to tell you about HOA requirements and restrictions regarding leasing in their managed communities. This document has been created in 1996 due to the ever increasing dangers we faced leasing in aggressive HOA-managed communities. Owners forget to tell managers about special signage requirements, special forms the tenant needs to sign, special permits needed to lease in the community and these issues can get managers in all sorts of fistfights. HOA’s are booting tires when dues are not paid, dismantling entry keys to pools and evicting tenants over continuous rule violations and managers need to protect themselves from these HOA (or owner caused) hazards.
Managers are getting sued by tenants over loss of right to quiet enjoyment, wrongful dispossessory, harassment and constructive eviction when the HOA’s begins to bare down on them. Managers need a document to protect themselves when owners forget to disclose the presence of an aggressive HOA and the requirements of tenant rules in the community. (You also need to have the tenant sign a document preventing them from suing you if the HOA does them wrong. See our Tenant CYA section for a list of documents to protect yourself in these situations).
This is one of the most toxic and litigious battle ground of management exposure in today’s rental market and owners need to notify (and indemnify) managers for the fallout from these issues. HOA’s have hugh power over the owner, and ultimately you, regarding what happens in their communities and they love to wield it without mercy. Don’t get caught up in the fines, assessments and debates without having this protection from the owner.
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Often you’ll find yourself in a situation where ‘one of the owners wants you to deal with the other one’ and not be involved in any decisions. Or, you’ll be receiving orders from several owners and you’ll want to ‘reduce the confusion and designate one to do all the talking.’ Managing for two or three owners is often chaotic like kids listening to two parents who don’t agree. A power of attorney is the solution and they are easy to fill out.
This is one our attorney crafted years ago just for owners to identify ‘who is doing the talking’ or ‘I’m traveling a lot, take orders from my brother.’ You don’t want to follow those instructions without a document protecting yourself if the designate does something stupid and makes a bad decision for the owner. When in doubt you’ll be blamed for listening to the wrong person and take the hit for the consequences. Get it in writing. Use a POA. They are simple to complete and will cover you when things go wrong.
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Add this page when you want to make fee changes in your PMA for an investor. Don’t make changes in the property management agreement. This document will get the job done without diluting all the protection laid out in your property management agreement.
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Often you will have a client with an ever growing list of properties to manage like builders, banks, large investors and REIT’s. We use to execute a new management agreement with each new property. That process was laborious, generated way too much paper and was certainly time consuming. Our attorney drafted a simple document that allows us to ‘add a new property to an existing management agreement’ and avoid all the duplication. This simplifies the process and saves you from over-documenting each transaction. Owners love it as it saves them from having to go through a completely new set of documents each time they give you a new property. You still need separate housekeeping documents, like lead paint and a features page, but you save time by just adding new properties to an existing document. I recommend just copying the original management agreement to the new file and attaching this addendum. You may want to add a special stipulation to the original management agreement that anticipates future additions like “this agreement will be sufficient for future properties to be added by the owner by the execution of a separate addendum.”
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Use this as an Exhibit requiring all owners to sign when there are more than 2 owners. Use the management agreement signature page and the Owner Declaration and Data Schedule housekeeping document when there are two owners or less.
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This is a similar version of the document above but addresses entity owners only. Use this in addition to the appropriate entity document. You need to pin them down hard when they own the property in an entity.
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This is a similar version of the document above but addresses entity owners only. Use this in addition to the appropriate entity document. You need to pin them down hard when they own the property in an entity.
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D. Entity Documents (Package # 4)
For asset protection purposes many owners will title their property into a trust. When you see this in the tax records, or on the title page of their deed, you need to remember ‘an individual’s signature on your management agreement is not adequate documentation.’ You can be accused of malpractice or incompetence if you don’t get the listing/management agreement right. Claims from someone that “I’m the real owner behind the scenes, take your instructions from me” isn’t good enough when the title is in an entity or trust. It’s your job to ‘get it right’ and there is no closing attorney to look over your shoulder protecting you from documentation errors or fraud.
You need a Certification of Trust, with a signature, witness and notary for your file to protect yourself when things go south and you have an issue with an owner or tenant. Make sure you’re dealing with the right person, with the right authority, and sending the money to the right account before you take on the property titled in a trust. There’s a lot of money at stake and people get real mad when it goes to the wrong account. Make them fill out this certification and swear, in front of a notary, they are the person you can trust for ownership decisions for the trust.
This product includes the document and an example for training.
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Every builder, bank, developer, REIT (and many private owners) hold title to their property in a Corporation. It’s your job to get the paperwork right or you’ll pay a price if you skip over this because you don’t know what to do. Require the one claiming to be in charge to complete and execute a corporate resolution. People working out of a corporation know this is expected so don’t disappoint them. They had to execute one of these to open a bank account, get an EIN number and take title of the property. These documents will protect you when things go wrong and they are simple to fill out. Get the person ‘claiming ownership’ (or signing authority) to complete it, execute it, get a witness and notary for your protection and stick it in your file for safe-keeping. You’ll sleep better knowing you have crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s.
This product includes the document and a sample for training.
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Often a property is held in a Limited Liability Company (LLC) for asset protection or to hide the identity of the real owner. Many investors use this strategy to mask who the owner is. Hiding title is a popular form of creating anonymity and this often confuses the property manager. Don’t become one of the tricked ones in the long list of owners wishing to remain anonymous. It’s your job as the licensed professional to get the paperwork right or you’ll pay a stiff price for failing to. You have no closing attorney to figure this out for you so you must do it yourself. Require the one claiming to be in charge to complete and execute this LLC affidavit and keep it in your records. These documents will protect you when things go wrong and they are simple to fill out. Get the person claiming ownership (or signing authority) to complete it, execute it in front of a witness and notary for your protection. You’ll sleep better knowing you have crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s.
This Product Includes THREE Documents
1. LLC Affidavit and Certification of Authority
2. Limited Parnership Affidavit and Certification of Authority
3. Instructions on Completing and LLC Authority and Example
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II. Scope of Service Documents
A. Scope of Service Documents
This is a simple document listing the things that are NOT included in your service package and won’t do as part of your monthly fee. Give this to the owner during the owner signup process (and maybe have them sign it) so they understand upfront that there are several things they must stay engaged with and continue to manage themselves. As we struggled with the owners unrealistic expectations this was the first solution we came up with. It worked well for several years until we got more sophisticated and developed better tools to push-back on this challenge of what are they paying you for anyway?
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This document package includes language for your PMA, a training and support document for your staff and a document for your owners to explain why you can’t take over their previously created third-party relationships. Owners often think (because they just don’t know any better) that you’ll take over third-party relationships they’ve developed before they came to your door including mortgage payments, paying HOA dues, manage utilities, HOA violations, home warranties, property line disputes, insurance claims, code enforcer, property tax disputes and more. If you don’t make it clear up front, you’ll get bullied into managing relationships THEY forged and relationships you weren't a party to and stepping in and managing them will suck up a lot of your time and energy. This language and support document will solve that challenge for you and make your life much easier.
This Product Includes TWO Documents
1. Third Party Relationships Details … Newsletter or Housekeeping Document
2. Third Party Relationships Language...TRAINING
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Some owners think you should manage everything that remotely touches their property. Most have never owned a rental property and have no idea what property managers do. If you don’t manage their expectations they will instinctively ask you to manage mortgage issues, utilities, home warranties, set up bank accounts, file foreign tax compliance forms, manage HOA issues, insurance claims and whatever else needs to be done, in addition to managing the tenant and maintenance. That’s a perfect definition of an asset manager but most owners don’t know the difference and neither do most property managers.
Often, large asset managers (or foreign investors) will ask you to set budgets, estimate NOI, get bids on insurance coverages, manage the code enforcement officer, manage property tax disputes, oversee insurance claims and a whole host of other duties you’re not trained to (or have the experience to) manage. To make it worse, you’re not being paid to do all that stuff for the lousy $70 a month management fee.
Private owners sometimes have the same ideas and need help understanding what you do for the fees they pay you or, better yet, what you don’t do. If you don’t define it, they will, and often their expectations are off the chart and totally unacceptable. If you don’t have a way to explain the limits of your services there will be tension between you and your client as you attempt to quell their unrealistic expectations as they come up. Defining the difference between an asset manager and a property manager is a great way to address the issue.
Managers need a document to send their owners (or make it part of their new owner sign up package) that identifies the differences. Over the years we developed a document differentiating one from the other so the owner can get their heads around what you do and don’t do for your fees. It’s a editable document so you can add your company name, tweak it to your model and publish it.
This Product Includes TWO Documents
1. Asset Manager vs Property Manager the List
2. Asset Manager vs Property Manager TRAINING
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We have job descriptions for everyone in our office, but not one for ourselves, as it relates to what we do for the owner. This is a visual way of describing to owners exactly what they retain control of, what the manager takes over, and what you’ll work on together. We developed it in the mid 90’s and gave it to all owners, once a year, to remind them what we do for our fee we charge and what they retain control of. As always, it’s not locked down. You get to tweak it to match your model and create your job description as you want it to be. This document evolves over time as your model changes. It reduces the tension between you and the owner and answers questions before they are asked.
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This is the longer version describing the limits of duties, tasks and responsibilities as their manager. This document evolved over 20 years as our way of answering the owner’s question “what am I paying you for anyway?” It lays out what we do for the procurement fee, renewal fee and monthly management fee. It’s detailed and won’t be exactly as you do it so you’ll have to tweak it to fit your model.
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B. Scope of Service Package with All Documents
This is the longer version describing the limits of duties, tasks and responsibilities as their manager. This document evolved over 20 years as our way of answering the owner’s question “what am I paying you for anyway?” It lays out what we do for the procurement fee, renewal fee and monthly management fee. It’s detailed and won’t be exactly as you do it so you’ll have to tweak it to fit your model.
This Product Includes TWO Documents
1. Things You Can’t Turn Over to Your Property Manager
2.1 Third Party Relationships Details … Newsletter or Housekeeping Document
2.2 Third Party Relationships Language...TRAINING
3.1 Asset Manager vs Property Manager the List
3.2 Asset Manager vs Property Manager TRAINING
4. The Property Manager’s Job Description
5. Scope of Service Training Document
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C. Miscellaneous Documents
The property management business is a thin-margin, nickel-dime, service business and managers need lots of different ways to generate revenue to survive, including setting up separate businesses that can support (and profit off of) the management business.
We all know that disclosures to our owners is critical to keep your license but often struggle with the question ‘When And How Do I Disclose’ so I can charge fees, receive referral checks, take commissions, make spreads, profit on maintenance, markup ancillary services and make money through outside companies I own. The question is, “what do I say in the PMA (that owners will accept) that permits me to make this additional revenue … and, how can I word it so the owner doesn’t get mad, or the real estate commission come down on me for not disclosing properly?
We struggled with this for years and tried lots of different methods of disclosure that met these three criteria. In the mid 90’s, with attorney Monica Gilroys help, we finally settled with this language. Owners feel it’s reasonable and fair; it opens up the floodgates of new revenue streams, and, it satisfies the real estate commission's requirements of Full Disclosure. It’s called a Broad Standing Disclosure.
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Some owners think you should manage everything that remotely touches their property. Most have never owned a rental property and have no idea what property managers do. If you don’t manage their expectations they will instinctively ask you to manage mortgage issues, utilities, home warranties, set up bank accounts, file foreign tax compliance forms, manage HOA issues, insurance claims and whatever else needs to be done, in addition to managing the tenant and maintenance. That’s a perfect definition of an asset manager but most owners don’t know the difference and neither do most property managers.
Often, large asset managers (or foreign investors) will ask you to set budgets, estimate NOI, get bids on insurance coverages, manage the code enforcement officer, manage property tax disputes, oversee insurance claims and a whole host of other duties you’re not trained to (or have the experience to) manage. To make it worse, you’re not being paid to do all that stuff for the lousy $70 a month management fee.
Private owners sometimes have the same ideas and need help understanding what you do for the fees they pay you or, better yet, what you don’t do. If you don’t define it, they will, and often their expectations are off the chart and totally unacceptable. If you don’t have a way to explain the limits of your services there will be tension between you and your client as you attempt to quell their unrealistic expectations as they come up. Defining the difference between an asset manager and a property manager is a great way to address the issue.
Managers need a document to send their owners (or make it part of their new owner sign up package) that identifies the differences. Over the years we developed a document differentiating one from the other so the owner can get their heads around what you do and don’t do for your fees. It’s a editable document so you can add your company name, tweak it to your model and publish it.
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