January 2023 Newsletter

Payment Disbursement Date

Payment disbursement date is every 15th of the month or the next business day if it falls on a weekend or holiday.

How to pull a rental owner statement:

1. On your portal, go to Reports.
2. Click on the Rental Owner Statement.
3. Choose the Property (if you have multiple properties) then the Date range.
4. Click download report.

Important Information:
Available for payment is how much money a property has to disburse to a rental owner as an owner
draw. Unlike the ending cash balance, cash available for payment does consider a property reserve and
liabilities held. The total amount of money that can be paid to a rental owner as a draw may be less than
the ending cash.

New High Water Bill Alert SOP

We know how frustrating the water bill processing can be especially now that water bills can no longer be considered as additional rent, therefore if a tenant refuses to pay, the only legal solution is to take action by going to Small Claims Court. We can not evict a tenant for just unpaid water bills only unpaid Rent. Please see our correspondence (Important Changes Regarding Water Bill Collection… Reference: Lockett v. Blue Ocean Bristo) about that law that passed for more information. While not perfect in our operations, we are committed to improving our procedures and figuring out a way to help you our trustee client meet your financial goals.

We just discovered the DPW Portal for Baltimore City Properties has created a water bill consumption tracker which allows you to see daily water consumption, so there are no surprises when the bill arrives.

We have created a special department that is dedicated to check for any spikes and we have started what we call a High Water Bill Alert- SOP. Please note some of these features are only available in Baltimore City currently but as soon as other jurisdictions enable this we will automatically be checking consumption as well. Also it’s important to not we are only able to offer this service to properties where we are doing Full Service Water Bill Processing on our clients behalf. This includes the bill is coming to our office, we are charging the tenant, and paying the bill each month using our very advanced Water Bill Processing. This cost is $5.00 per unit per month. To sign up for this service, feel free to make the request via your Rental Owner Portal.

-We will alert the owner of the increase of 30% in water bill consumption compared to previous months.
- Owner will be asked for approval to have a maintenance guy out in order to check for possible leaks
- Maintenance will dispatch our preferred vendor to check the property and send report to the owner
- Once confirmed that there is a leak and they were able to fix, finance coordinator will send the report
to DPW to dispute the water bill charged.

PLEASE NOTE:
- Disputes / credit from DPW is not always guaranteed, but once approved, it will be deducted on
the bill.
- Water bills are processed normally to both owners and tenants. We will also be requesting
approval from the owner if they want to pay for the bill before we proceed.

Snow Removal Policy and Cost

Winter is upon us again! City and County housing codes require snow accumulation to be removed by the specific days after snow stops.

If any of the rental properties are vacant or is a multi-family dwelling, it is the owner's responsibility to clear the snow. Some owners may want to take care of the snow removal even for their occupied single-family homes to reduce liabilities.

The regular cost is about $75 to $150 per property for a typical townhome (front public sidewalk and the path to the main entrance). Extra salt as needed. Keep in mind, the cost will be adjusted if there is icy condition and heavy snow accumulations.

Be a Hero! PropertyWize Referral Program

Pick anyone and we’ll manage their property for 1 month for free and yours for free too.

For Referrals

Only applicable to first time customers. Property also must minimum standards and fully compliant of all state and local laws.

For Current Clients

To qualify, your account must be in good standing. Also only 1 property management fee credit is applicable up to a maximum of $150.00.

Owner Benefit Package

Minimize Your Exposure... and Headaches:
When a tenant defaults on the rent, it can take months to regain your property and get another tenant in place. Meanwhile, you're continuing to make mortgage payments and incurring additional expenses on the property, all the while losing rental income. Enter the Owner Benefit Package.

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Thank You and Happy New Year!

Your support, your presence, your feedbacks—all of this keeps our business alive and makes our line of work a pleasure each day.

Thank you for playing such a pivotal role in our growth.

We look forward to another great year with you!

Greater Baltimore Property Management Blog