Owner FAQs

After you are done reviewing our information, please give us a call at 856 988-1800 or email us at info@cpm-nj.com. Once we receive your information, we will set up an appointment at your earliest convenience to view your property to complete the initial property inspection

Q: What does the initial inspection entail?

A: We will meet you at the property, take digital photos of your home, answer any questions you might have in person, install our sign in the yard and place the lockbox on the door. Please make sure your home is in picture ready condition…if not, please give us a call and we can give you a bid for any rent ready work necessary. Mission complete.

Q: When do you need the keys?

A: We require to have all keys for the property at time of initial inspection. Please make sure to provide us with three (3) copies of the main key, garage remote's, mail keys (if applicable), and if the unit is in an HOA with community features and keys related to those areas.

Q: You don’t have an office close to my house. How are you going to manage it?

A: Due to the advances in technology, we do not need a physical “office” space near your home. Everything administrative is done out of our corporate headquarters in Marlton, NJ by phone, email, fax, or through our website.

Q: When will you start advertising my property?

A: We will begin advertising when we have received the signed contract back in our office, and after we have gone to inspect the property, taken the pictures, and we have the keys. The home must be completely vacant and ready to go!

Q: How long will it take to rent my property?

A: The most important factor to lower your “days on market” is pricing! We cannot stress this enough. When you were searching for management companies, I’m sure price was a major factor for you regardless of how awesome our service is. Tenants are the same way…no matter how great your home is, it all ultimately comes down to price and the more competitive you can be the better chance you will have of leasing your home quickly. On average, it takes about 30-45 days to lease a home but if it’s priced right we can lease it in a matter of days.

Q: How do you determine the leasing price?

A: We will do a complimentary market analysis for your property based on it’s size, age, & location. We check all resources your tenant is likely to look when searching for a rental like the internet, local papers, rental agencies, & the MLS. In order for a quick turn around, your property should be competitively priced against the competitions. If it’s the highest on the market, there’s a good chance it will sit longer as well. Again, our goal is to rent your property in 30 days or less and we will set a price that will most likely achieve that goal while still keeping within market rates. If the home does not lease within a 2 week period, we will begin recommending for you to make rental reductions.

Q: What if you do all these things and my property still does not rent?

A: Basically, we keep advertising it until it’s leased no matter how long it takes! But, in our vast experience in leasing homes normally if your property is getting exposure but not leasing, meaning people are seeing it but just not moving forward with the application…it’s most likely priced too high. It’s extremely important that you don’t base the amount you expect for rent off your mortgage payment, what your neighbors tenant is paying or what you’ve heard here and there. The market and supply and demand dictates the rent, not much else. To avoid delays and wasted advertising dollars, we require you list your home for the rental amount we suggest.

Q: What do you look for in a tenant?

A: We are mainly looking for stability in income and employment along with longevity at their previous addresses. We do not look for perfect credit but do not want to see numerous open collection activity or multiple lates in the past 12 months. Tenants are required to supply pay stubs, bank statements, past landlord information, as well as their current employer’s information and any other documents that we request in order to issue an approval. We do one of the most thorough background checks of any company. Our screening process includes credit check, criminal background search, nationwide eviction search, employment/income verification, and a income/debt ratio analysis.

Q: Can I help pick out the tenants?

A: No, choosing tenants carefully is part of our job and we feel we are able to do it faster and more efficiently on our own. It is not time or cost effective for us to have to call you each time a prospective tenant is interested in your property. Our goal is to find you the best tenant possible and choose the most qualified applicant from the pool of applications we receive on your property.

Q: I already have somebody who wants to rent my property. Can I have them call you?

A: Yes, of course! Have them give us a call and we will do all the screening and coordinate the move in. You will still be charged the leasing fee if a lease is executed because, well we are a business and need to make money!

Q: What do you do for the monthly management fee?

A: You might think it sounds easy but there’s actually a lot involved. We handle all the day to day operations of your property including but not limited to: handling tenant issues, phone calls, emails, rent collection & accounting, tenant / owner billing, owner customer service, maintain a 24/7 emergency call service, maintain tenant/owner trust accounts, receive and issue service repair orders, maintain and operate a full service maintenance department, home warranty coordination, delinquent account servicing, & eviction coordination, lease renewals, lease executions, move ins / move outs, and more!

Q: Do you charge me when my property is vacant?

A: No. We only charge on actual rents collected. If you’re not receiving any income than neither are we!

Q: When do I get my check?

A: Owner checks are sent out towards the middle of the month, usually around the 15th of the same month the rent is received. We direct deposit the funds right into your account! We can mail out physical checks, but usually all statements are sent via email.

Q: Why can’t I get my check earlier?

A: The rent is due on the 1st & the tenants have a 5 day grace period. So, most rents are received on the 5th of the month. Once we receive the tenants’ check, we process it and deposit it in our broker’s trust account. Our accounting department balances out the trust account, prepares the statements, and irons out any issues which usually brings us to the middle of the month. We issue checks on the 15th of every month (or the Monday after if it falls on a weekend). It is our goal to get them out as soon as possible! As long as you are paying the upcoming month’s mortgage instead of the current month’s mortgage with the rental income, you should be fine.

Q: What will my first check look like?

A: It’s normally the smallest check you will receive. From your first check we hold a $300 reserve, we deduct our commission for leasing your home which is up to of the first full month’s rent, and any pro-rations of the rent since they may not move in exactly on the 1st of the month. Normally, you receive a full check by the 2nd month of leasing.

Q: Do you collect interest on my rent money!

A: No. All rent payments go directly into our broker’s trust account which is a non-interest bearing account. We do not make money or benefit off keeping your rent payments longer than we need to!

Q: Why do you require a $300 reserve?

A: This is in case there are outstanding invoices or repairs on your account and no rental income. This reserve money is returned to you when we close out your account providing you have no outstanding balances. You are also required to keep an additional amount of funds equivalent to the rental amount. This can be comprised of the security deposit and owner funds if deposit does not equal the rental amount.

Q: How much of a deposit will you collect from the tenant?

A: The deposit is normally equivalent to the rental amount and an additional $250 for pets. Due to the current economy, we have increased our “deposit specials” so it is easier for tenants to move in your home. The deposit is held in our Broker’s trust account until the tenant moves out and we have inspected the property. If there are no damages, we will refund their full deposit. If there are issues we will begin deducting accordingly at our own discretion.

Q: What do you do when a tenant is late in paying rent?

A: Rent is due on the 1st and late by the 6th. After the 6th, we impose a 10% late fee for that month and send out a “3 Day Notice To Pay or Quit” which is the first legal action of an eviction. This notice is both sent by mail and posted at the property. There is no extra charge for this notice but we do retain the late fee in order to cover costs. We then begin a calling and mail campaign in the hopes to communicate with the tenant and help resolve the issue. If needed, we can work out a payment arrangement with the tenant to cure the delinquency.

Q: What if you have to evict the tenant?

A: By the end of the same month they are delinquent, if no terms have been made or they have defaulted from a payment arrangement we will forward the tenant’s file to our eviction attorneys. The process takes about 4-6 weeks and we can help coordinate the entire transaction, make court appearances, and attend the sheriff lock out. The total cost is usually about $600 - $1,200 and is deducted from the tenant’s deposit. If there is no deposit to cover late fees, it will be the owner’s responsibility to cover these costs in order to start the transaction. Normally, an advance of $1000 is required to start an eviction process.

Q: Do you send me a year end statement?

A: Yes. We send out a 1099 statement for tax reporting purposes. The 1099 will be in the name of who the checks have been made payable to through the course of the year.

Q: Can I contact the tenants or go over periodically to check on my property?

A: No. When you lease a property you guarantee the tenants “quiet and undisturbed use” of the property. They are the current legal owners while in possession and you are not able to enter the property or do anything without their consent. Also, when you’re using property management the whole idea is to keep an arm’s length from your tenants and avoid getting involved personally. Contacting your tenants & visiting the property while occupied defeats this purpose and tends to confuse the tenants as to who their point of contact is.

Q: What do I need to do to get my property rent-ready?

A: The property should be freshly painted on the interior (neutral or white tones are best). There needs to be window coverings on all the windows, a minimum of one smoke alarm in the hallway near the bedrooms, a CO2 detector, and of course everything needs to be in proper working order and of relatively good condition. Just remember, your tenants will look like your property and the nicer it is, the better they will take care of it. We can give you a list of all necessary repairs at time of inspection.

Q: Can you call me before doing any repairs?

A: Yes and No. We take service calls from tenants and qualify all repairs prior to making the trip to the property. For qualified small repairs, under $400 we take care of right away without calling you. Emergency repairs also need to be completed right away and do not require authorization. All cosmetic repairs requested by the tenant need to be authorized by the homeowner and you will be given an estimate and need to sign off before any work is started.

Q: Should I allow people with pets in my rental property?

A: Yes!! Almost everybody has pets and to restrict them will greatly lessen the possibility of renting your property in a timely manner. We allow up to 2 pets per property and we do not allow dangerous breeds (ie. Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, Chows, etc.) for insurance purposes.

Q: What if I have a home warranty?

A: Unfortunately, due to the inefficiencies and lack of coverage of most Home Warranties we can no longer work with them. They take too long to respond, are often hard to get a hold of, and do not give us any information on what was completed. We are much more efficient simply handling repairs ourselves.

Q: Will I get receipts for all work that is done on my property?

A: No. You will see an itemization on your monthly statement for any repairs done to your property which is our receipt to you for work completed. You will not receive individual receipts for paint, parts, etc. Copies of service requests are mailed out on a monthly basis and normally follow your owner statement.

Q: Who do I contact when I have questions about my statement?

A: You can go on-line 24/7 to www.CPM-NJ.com and submit an inquiry! This gets directly routed to our accounting department and they will respond with a detailed answer to your questions. There is also valuable information in the email we send you each month regarding your statement so please make sure to read that as well.