Real Estate Guide

Investing In Real Estate - Questions and Answers
'Property Management'

• Where do I get information about being a landlord?
• Where can I get information on writing leases?
• Can I make my apartments non-smoking?
• Must a property manager in the State of Ohio be licensed?

Where do I get information about being a landlord?

If you are a landlord and have questions, contact:

• National Multi-Housing Council, 1850 M Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036; call (202) 659-3381.
• National Apartment Association, 21 N. Union St., Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314; (703) 518-6141.

 

Where can I get information on writing leases?

Landlords can turn to several good books for legal and management advice. Some contain sample forms for the tenant's move-in condition checklist, owner's notice of intent to enter an occupied unit and warning notices, for example.

Resources:

• Rental Agreement  (Download pdf)
• Rental Application  (Download pdf)
• Lease Agreement Software
• REIbrain.com. An online resource  for a stockpile of FREE real estate investing  information, tools, resources, tutorials, and products.

Can I make my rental units non-smoking?

Although some real estate attorneys contend it may be discriminatory to deny rentals to 'smokers' - most agree you still have the right to prohibit smoking per se. The distinction is that you do not deny rental to the person, just his/her habit, which is the practice of hotels, many restaurants, and airlines. For more information go to www.smokefreeapartments.org.

Must a Property Manager in the State of Ohio be licensed?

Often investors in real estate find out that managing property is not as easy as they thought and are required to bring in professionals to manage and lease their property. In Ohio, the company they hire must have a real estate broker's license. Here's an excerpt from a Legal White Paper issued by the Ohio Association of REALTORS on the subject of Property Management.

License Law Requirements For Property Management.

In Ohio, the management of commercial or residential property is an activity that requires a real estate license.

Ohio Revised Code Section 4735.01(A) provides a list of activities that if performed for another for a fee requires a real estate license. This list includes anyone who "operates, manages, or rents, or offers or attempts to operate, manage, or rent other than as a custodian, caretaker, or janitor, any building or portions of buildings to the public as tenants." Also included on the list of activities that require a license are any attempts to lease property, any acts directed at procuring tenants for a property, the negotiation of leases, or advertising or holding oneself out as in the business of leasing property. Under Ohio law, performing any of these acts without a license constitutes a first degree misdemeanor and subjects the offender to a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars per violation.

Each day a violation occurs or continues is a separate violation. Because Ohio law requires a real estate license to engage in property management activities, it also requires that the property management services be conducted through the real estate brokerage. A real estate salesperson cannot manage property in his own name or in the name of a separate management company that he has formed. When a salesperson is performing acts that require a license (i.e. property management services), these acts must be performed in the name of the brokerage with whom he is affiliated.

A real estate broker may also not manage property in a name other than the name that appears on the brokerage license. Nor can a broker form a separate unlicensed company for management services. Instead, the property management agreement and all property management services must be performed in the name of the real estate brokerage.

For a full discussion >>

See Ohio Association Of REALTORS: Legal: White Paper: Property Management License Law.