Rental Property Management in Charleston, SC

A property management company handles everything from marketing your property to scheduling showings, screening tenants, and drafting and enforcing leases, to emergency maintenance requests. That is, a reliable property management company does all this. At Quartermaster Properties, we operate with complete transparency so that you’re kept in the loop every step of the way. You’ll always know the status of your rental property and will feel good having it managed by a reliable, professional company.

The pricing for property management services can vary depending on which services a company is offering. Quartermaster Properties charges a flat fee for all pre-rental activities (listing, marketing, showing, etc.) and then a percentage of the monthly rental price on an ongoing basis. To learn more about pricing specifics, please contact us.

We begin marketing your property when we receive a completed management agreement, or in the case of an existing lease, when the tenant provides 30 days’ notice that they will be vacating. As noted in the property management agreement, our leasing fee includes the cost of coordinating and managing the advertising of your property. However, effective February 2020, there is an additional advertising cost of $50 monthly to cover charges imposed by the Zillow Group, i.e. Zillow, Trulia, and HotPads for the period of time the listing is active.

Our goal is to have your home rented as soon as it is available. It does take time to find fully qualified tenants, so it is impossible to predict. Many factors come into play: time of year, location, price, amenities, and overall condition of the property. Pricing the property competitively and making sure your property is in the best condition possible are very important to reducing the amount of time needed. Ultimately, the only thing worse than a vacancy is having the wrong tenant in your property. Know that we are diligent in screening prospects with your best interest in mind.

All applicants must go through a thorough screening process. The very first step is a search of the courthouse records and Google to determine any negative information that would disqualify an applicant before we ever agree to show them the property. The next step includes screening credit, criminal background, employment/income, sex offender, and landlord references. Placing qualified tenants in your property is one of the most important jobs we do as your property manager. If an owner encounters a situation where they need to rent to someone that we do not approve, we may choose to return the property to the owner for management.

During the time your property is listed for rent, you will receive a weekly report with our showing results.  In addition, we will contact you as needed to discuss activity, market conditions and advertising results should the property remain vacant for any extended period. We may also call you with questions about accepting certain types of pets or specific requests from prospective tenants.

Owners are briefed on policies, minimum lease requirements, pet policy, etc. prior to the execution of the management agreement. In the event, anything comes up that falls outside of those parameters, the property manager will follow up with the owner to discuss or ask for approval, i.e. number of pets allowed, maximum lease length, etc. A copy of the lease is available upon request.

Owners are also notified of any expenditure more than $350 and provided with associated receipts as an attachment to the monthly statement. Monthly statements are emailed and posted to the Owner’s Portal no later than the 15th of the month. In addition, periodic maintenance inspections are conducted, and the results posted to the Owner’s Portal. Please let your property manager know of any additional detail you require.

Owners should maintain all of their rental property’s utilities in their name until advised otherwise by us. Failure to do this could result in additional fees to the owner for utility hook-up inspections. Tenants are expected to set up utilities in their name on or by the first date of occupancy. We also recommend that owners set up a landlord account with the utility companies so that the bill reverts to their name when a tenant moves out. This prevents unnecessary utility connect fees.

Our staff is always available to our tenants.  When an emergency call is received, we will determine the severity of the problem and dispatch the needed service. If an issue arises during the night, owners will be advised via email with a follow-up call the following morning. We define an emergency as a fire, flood, or any dangerous or hazardous situation.

We require tenants to pay their rent online via our secure website on or before the 1st of each month. If rent payments are not received by the 5th day of the month, we will send a communication to the tenant advising them of their delinquency. Late fees are collected as indicated in the lease agreement and split equally between the owner and Quartermaster Properties.  If we are not successful in collecting rents immediately through our contact with the tenant, we will notify you and take steps to secure the rent and/or file eviction proceedings.

When a tenant breaks the lease prior to its expiration the tenant is responsible for paying the rent, the utility cost, and maintaining the property until a new tenant can be found. Associated leasing and marketing fees are also the responsibility of the tenant.

All owners are advised to contact their insurance agent to determine if any change in coverage is warranted.  In addition, it is extremely important to make your insurance company aware that the property is being rented to insure ongoing coverage.

Tenants are advised that the owner’s insurance does not protect their personal belongings and require that tenants obtain a renter’s insurance policy through a 3rd party or they may purchase insurance offered through Quartermaster Properties.