Owner Resources

The leasing process has many variables, including time of year, local inventory, condition, location, and asking price. When the home sparkles and is move-in ready, it will make a great first impression and generate preferred renters.

When we get feedback from potential renters when showing a home, RPM will bring this to your attention. If the asking price is not getting the response needed, we will discuss the condition of your home, or reducing the cost may be recommended.

For tenant-occupied homes, tenants submit a maintenance request via their online tenant portal or our maintenance hotline. Our portal allows tenants to submit a work order request by providing a description of the issue and uploading photos of the problem when appropriate. Tenants can also track the status of their requests online via their portal.

When a request comes in, we assess it and see if it needs immediate dispatch or if we can proactively troubleshoot the issue with the tenant. There are many common repair requests our team is trained in troubleshooting. If the issue needs to be fixed, we assign the work order to one of our preferred vendors. We utilize third-party vendors/independent contractors for all work. We make sure the cost of the repair is fair and that the work is completed satisfactorily. The management agreement allows us to approve any repair under $500 without bothering our clients. Larger repairs over $500 require owner approval. Exceptions to the $500 approval rule include emergency maintenance and habitability issues. If we have to act quickly to protect persons or property, we will do so to protect our owner’s best interest.

If an owner has a specific handyman or vendor they wish to service their property, RPM will note it in their portfolio and contact them first for service (this must be communicated to us up front so we can note it in our system). We must have the ability to communicate and get the issue resolved quickly with any “requested” vendor. If we can’t get the job accomplished in a timely manner using that vendor, we will move on and send our prefered vendor(s). We do not allow owners themselves to go in and do the work, as there is liability and scheduling issues that arise. We want to have control over maintenance to use our vendors to ensure leasing deadlines are met; as we work with these vendors regularly, they are insured, licensed, reliable, and trusted, and we know what to expect. We also have deadlines with disposition of tenant deposits and guidelines to follow that we must uphold, so always running maintenance through our office keeps us in compliance with those things. We always communicate with owners on status and how things are going so they are looped into the situation on larger jobs. With smaller jobs, there is transparency through your owner statements with attached work orders including descriptions as well as receipts showing any purchased items.

The tenant pays their monthly rent to RPM Momentum, and we deposit it into our trust account. Over 90% of our tenants pay rent electronically. Once funds have cleared the bank, we direct deposit the rent from the current month, minus our fee and any other expenses, into a bank account of your choice. Owner payments are made on the last day of the month and paid via echeck directly into the bank account of your choice.

Statistics show over half of all renters have pets. Being open to pets, you will increase demand through the entire prospective rental pool, thus increasing the rental price as we charge an additional amount per pet per month. If maximizing rent is important to you, you should consider pets. If you would rather play it safe, it is OK to say no pets. We do always recommend that you accept pets and we have a 2 pet max per property.

Service Animals & Emotional Support Animals are handled per Missouri state law & Federal requirements. Ask our office for more information.

Getting properties rented quickly is critical to our success and the happiness of our clients. We know that vacancy time can be one of a property owner’s bigger expenses so we always keep that in mind during leasing and we strive to generate as many qualified leads as possible. We accomplish this by syndicating marketing efforts to the most popular rental websites (Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Zumper, Realtor, etc.). We also pre-screen prospective renters and ask who will live with them, how many adults, minors, and whether they have any pets. We also inquire how long they have been at their current job. Our platform enables us to follow up with and solicit feedback from all interested parties so that we can look at consistent feedback and adjust accordingly.

Our rigorous tenant screening process usually prevents these types of issues; however, if a problem should arise, we always respond promptly and aggressively. The eviction process is started with a 3-day notice to pay or quit. Nuisance issues are handled similarly, with one warning given before a notice is posted. We partner with a licensed Missouri Eviction Lawyer, who will handle eviction procedures as per Missouri law. We will also keep you, the owner, informed if we think that we will have to file an eviction.

Much like the real estate market determines sales prices, the local rental market determines rental rates. There are three factors that contribute to how much your rental property will receive in rent each month:

1. Availability and rental rates of comparable properties
2. The features, benefits, & condition of your property
3.  The marketing exposure for your vacancy

After we receive the details of your specific rental property, we will complete a market analysis and recommend a starting price. We then evaluate all vacancies under our management on a weekly basis, making adjustments in the price or within our marketing strategy to get it rented as quickly as possible.