Property Management
Managing Emergencies for Property Managers: A Risk Management Guide
Emergencies can strike when you least expect it and, as a property manager, you don’t just need to react, you need to lead. Wildfires, hurricanes, flooding — each…
Vacation Rental Issues for Real Estate Agents in California
Short-term vacation rentals have been very popular in California the past ten (10) years or so. With such popularity, challenges arise for the property owner wishing to undertake…
How Restrictions on Short-Term Rentals Can Affect Property Managers and Real Estate Agents
A growing number of locations are introducing tighter restrictions on short-term rentals. This is posing significant challenges for property managers, especially those who work across different districts. And…
Credit Scores – Risk Management for Property Managers
Ensuring a prospective tenant can afford to pay monthly rent is an important consideration for landlords and the property managers that screen applicants on behalf of landlords. Property…
Property Management Evictions, Maintenance, and Short-Term Rentals: ClaimPrevent® Summary #9
To help reduce your risk, we’ve summarized all our property management posts on handling evictions, property maintenance, and short-term vacation rentals over the last two years. Use it…
Property Management Ads and Screening of Applicants: ClaimPrevent Summary #8
Fair Housing Act and Housing Ads Real estate licensees and property managers need to be aware of and comply with the Fair Housing Act. This legislation prohibits discrimination…
When a Property Owner Wants to DIY: how real estate licensees and property managers can manage the risks
DIY (“do it yourself”) can be an attractive option for a seller or a landlord because it’s cheaper than engaging a professional. But, what about the impact if…
Know Your Potential Liability Before Turning Away Tenants With Section 8 Vouchers
When prospective tenants ask a real estate licensee if the landlord will take Section 8, they want to know if the landlord will accept part of their rent…
Property Managers: How Timely Maintenance and Repairs Can Prevent Lawsuits
Many responsibilities come with being a Property Manager. It’s not just about finding great tenants and collecting the rent. Managing property maintenance and repairs is an ongoing job.…
Property Manager’s Guide to Going on Vacation… and Avoiding a Lawsuit While Away
Taking time out to go on vacation can be difficult for Property Managers if you manage multiple properties simultaneously, it may not be possible to just drop everything…
Can Landlords Impose Mandatory Vaccinations for Tenants?
As a property manager, you may come across landlords that want to impose mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations. The pandemic has caused significant discussion and, in some cases, debate about…
How Real Estate Licensees Can Avoid Housing Voucher Discrimination
The Federal government’s Housing Choice Voucher Program assists very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford safe, decent, and sanitary privately-owned rental housing. In certain circumstances,…
Property Managers: How to Tackle Evictions and Avoid a Lawsuit
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s nationwide moratoriums on evictions ended in August 2021. This was a key protection for tenants during the pandemic to ensure people…
CRES Risk Management Webinar: How to Prevent Fair Housing Complaints with Rental Ads and Application Reviews
In this webinar, James Myer from Chartwell Law, and Dave Miller, Regional Vice President with Fidelity National Home Warranty, talk about how real estate professionals can prevent discrimination…
Rental Ads Cannot Prohibit Applicants Based on Criminal History
IMPORTANT ALERT REGARDING RENTAL ADVERTISEMENTS: UNDER THE FAIR HOUSING ACT, AN ADVERTISEMENT CONTAINING A BLANKET PROHIBITION REGARDING A RENTAL APPLICANT’S CRIMINAL HISTORY CAN CONSTITUTE, IN AND OF ITSELF,…
Avoid Being Sued for Discrimination — Follow Fair Housing Act Standards in Real Estate Ads
Real estate licensees, property managers and leasing agents: you can inadvertently and unintentionally become liable for racial discrimination if you aren’t careful in advertising for housing, whether in…
Proper Screening of Tenant Applicants in California by a Landlord or Property Manager
A landlord or his or her property manager in California at most can charge a potential tenant fifty- dollars and ninety-four cents ($50.94) as an application fee where…
Understanding COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium Directives and How to Minimize Your Risk as a Property Manager
It’s a challenging time for all real estate professionals with rapidly changing directives due to COVID-19. One of these directives is the moratorium on evictions. For Property Managers…
The Dangers of Legionella: Assessing Safety Risks for Recently Opened Buildings
The NAR recently warned real estate agents about the risks of Legionella bacteria in recently-opened buildings. It’s a challenge that many property owners and real estate professionals haven’t…
Property Managers: Rental Scams and How To Avoid Them
Fraudsters are unfortunately taking full advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a real estate professional, you need to keep on top of rental scams and take action to…
Property Managers: How to Handle Broken Solar on Rental Property
Many homeowners are seeing benefits from installing solar, but does it make sense to add solar panels to a rental unit? Property owners need to consider different options…
CRES Risk Management Webinar: How to Reduce Property Management Risks in a COVID World
Like many other industries, real estate has been significantly affected by COVID-19. Property management is one area in particular, which is experiencing much pandemic-related change. There’s no doubt…
What to Do When a Tenant is COVID-19 Positive
Given the widespread nature of COVID-19, property managers shouldn’t be surprised to hear that one or more tenants are symptomatic or have tested positive. The question, of course,…
Tenants Who Cannot Pay Due to COVID-19
The impact of COVID-19 on the world economy is unprecedented. GDP has dropped some 4.8% for the first quarter of 2020, the stock market has taken a hit,…
How to Avoid Income Discrimination Lawsuits as a Property Manager
Property managers need to be especially aware of income discrimination situations, especially with new laws in California about rent control and source of income issues. (Be sure to…
What Can Property Managers Do When Roommates Fight?
Tenants in different rental units don’t always get along, and sometimes tenant roommates have conflicts as well. Disputes can lead to noise complaints, destruction of property, and physical…
Military Lease Termination: What Property Managers Need to Know
Property managers may be faced with tenants who want to terminate a lease before it expires for a number of reasons. Leases exist for a reason and have…
The Best Way for Property Managers to Reject Applicants
Part of your job as a property manager is screening potential new tenants. The screening process you use and the way you reject applicants can get you in…
Top Risks Agents Face When Acting as Property Managers
If you’re a real estate professional acting as a Property Manager, you face many risks every day in the course of business. Attorney Rinat Klier Erlich recently covered key risks…
What to Do with a Tenant’s Abandoned Property
Landlords and property managers know that when tenants leave, they don’t always take all their things with them. Recently a client asked our risk management legal advisory team…
Guest or Tenant? How to Deal with Someone Who Won’t Leave
What happens when somebody pays you to stay in a room short term and then doesn’t want to leave? That happened to one of our clients. She offered…
Dealing with Malicious Acts by Tenants – a Guide for Property Managers
It’s every property manager’s and property owner’s worst nightmare — when a tenant does malicious damage. This is why it’s important to know what the liabilities are, and…
Can You Text Changes to a Lease Agreement?
A couple was selling one home and moving into another that needed work. They arranged to lease the house they sold, while a contractor did the work on…
Choosing The Right Tenants To Avoid Future Lawsuits
Choosing the right tenants is one of the biggest challenges property managers face. When done right, it can significantly minimize your risk of a lawsuit or Errors and…
What Can Property Managers Do About Marijuana Cultivation?
Changes in state laws about marijuana use and cultivation means that growing marijuana may become an issue for real estate agents in several states. Recently, CRES Risk Management…
A Property Manager’s Guide to Successful Property Management Agreements
Many real estate professionals have diversified their business models and become involved in real estate property management. This has been an excellent source of revenue for these professionals,…
How to Protect Yourself from a Seller’s Unpermitted Rental Unit During a Sale
Unpermitted rental units and their tenants can pose a risk to real estate agents and brokers. If a buyer can prove that they thought they were purchasing a…
What Happens When Property Managers Aren’t Added to Landlord Insurance Policies?
Are you covered by somebody else’s insurance policy? If you are a property manager, you should be named as an additional insured on all landlords’ insurance policies. Don’t…
How Can a Property Manager Minimize Exposure in Landlord Tenant Relations?
With the resurgence of the California real estate market after the “Great Recession,” I find that many of my real estate clients have diversified their business and have…
How to Prevent a Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) Complaint
California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) maintains the authority to investigate complaints of discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations and hate violence. Many…
Avoid Violation of the Fair Housing Act By Staying Up-to-Date on Discrimination Issues
The call may seem very innocent. A person calls about the availability of an 800-square-foot apartment advertised by your company in the local newspaper. When the caller asks…
The Law Regarding Service and Companion Animals
Health care practitioners for years have documented evidence that animals, particularly dogs can benefit impaired people. Examples are seeing-eye dogs, dogs for the hearing impaired and most recently,…
Abandoned Renter Property
In Colorado, professional property managers are required to have a real estate license. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 12-61-101(2)(a)&(b); see also CP 27 (Commission Position on the Performance of…
Property Management Companies and Security Deposits
In recent months, I have handled an increasing number of risk management inquiries for real estate agents and brokers who are property managers for property owners who rent…
