Property Management Blog

Rental Fraud in Richmond, VA: How Common It Is, How It Works, and How to Avoid It

Rental fraud has become a persistent and increasingly sophisticated problem in Richmond, across Central Virginia, and nationwide. What was once limited to obviously fake listings has evolved into a wide range of schemes that exploit competitive housing markets, remote transactio...

Landlord Maintenance Responsibilities in Virginia: Legal Duties, Risk Management & Best Practices

Property maintenance disputes in Virginia rarely turn on whether an owner “meant well.” They turn on what condition existed, how long it lasted, what was reported, and what was done before the issue got worse.The owner’s legal duties don’t disappear becaus...

Richmond’s Multifamily Shift: How New Construction, Institutional Investors, and Rising Expectatio...

Richmond has long been regarded as one of the strongest midsized real estate markets in the United States. Steady population growth, a resilient job market, diverse employers, and relatively attainable housing costs have positioned the metro as a favored target for both institut...

Why We Charge a Maintenance Coordination Fee (And Why It Saves You Money)

As a property owner, you want to understand every line item on your statement. That's smart business. One question we hear occasionally is about our 10% maintenance coordination fee, and it's worth explaining not just what it is, but why it exists and...

The Rent-Ready Baseline: Setting Your Richmond Property Up for Success

A turnover is the moment a rental either resets into predictability or locks in the next cycle of surprise invoices. A finished condition will strengthen marketing and also reduce the recurring friction that drives maintenance costs up over time.Richmond homes delivered in...

The Virginia Smoke Alarm Gray Area: Why § 55.1-1220 Creates Legal Confusion

In Part 1, this series covered why professional property managers install bedroom smoke alarms regardless of legal requirements: insurance carriers expect them, fire safety science proves they work, and the cost-benefit analysis is obvious.Part 2 addresses the question that actua...

Why Every Bedroom Needs a Smoke Alarm: The Insurance and Liability Reality

When a tenant is injured in a residential fire, insurance adjusters do not start by asking whether a property technically complied with the minimum code requirements in effect decades ago.They ask three different questions:Did the property meet current industry standards?What wou...

Understanding Wear And Tear Vs Damage In Virginia Rentals

Most security-deposit disputes do not start with obvious destruction. They start when an owner and a resident label the same condition differently, especially after a multi-year lease when ordinary aging shows up everywhere at once.Across the Richmond metro, “normal” ...

What's Next? Your Journey as a Professionally Managed Investor

You didn't plan to become a landlord. Maybe you relocated for work, inherited a property, or couldn't sell in a difficult market. But you made a smart early decision: you hired a property manager to handle the day-to-day operations.Now you're wondering—what happ...

Why Deferred Maintenance Costs Owners More Than Vacancies

Deferred maintenance rarely shows up as one dramatic defect. It shows up as a pattern of unfinished cues that quietly weaken leasing outcomes, increase negotiation pressure, and push repairs into premium-timeline decisions.A rental stays profitable when preventable issues do not ...