Property Management Blog

The Truth About Leasing Speed in Richmond: How Vacancy Pressure Breaks Tenant Screening

“How fast can you rent my home?”That’s one of the most common questions property owners ask. It’s a fair question. Every vacant day costs money, and vacancy anxiety is real.But Richmond has a hard reality that rarely gets said out loud: speed is not the s...

How to Price a Rental in a Cooling Richmond Market

The Richmond rental market has shifted. After several years of aggressive rent growth, increased inventory and stronger competition have given renters more leverage. Many landlords respond by holding firm on last year’s pricing, waiting for the right resident to eventually ...

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...

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 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...

Smarter Eco-Friendly Upgrades Richmond Landlords Can Count On

Rental properties in Richmond face a unique blend of challenges. Seasonal humidity, heavy rainfall, and hot summers can accelerate wear on HVAC systems, plumbing, and building materials. For property owners, this often translates into mounting maintenance bills and recurring tena...