When it’s time to consider renewing your current Tenant’s lease, what can the Landlord expect from OBX Housing?
Properties managed by OBX Housing are leased for a minimum 12-month term. Approximately 60 days prior to the lease term expiring, OBX Housing contacts your Tenant to determine if they would like to renew the lease or if they plan to vacate your home and turn in the 60 day Notice to Vacate.
If the Resident would like to renew, OBX Housing will schedule a Renewal Inspection at the property which involves one of our Brokers going to the home to evaluate how the Tenant is taking care of your property as well as if any maintenance or upkeep is required. During many of these Inspections, we find maintenance issues such as pressure washing needed; deck and step boards that need attention, etc. This is an expense that the Landlord can normally expect every 1 to 2 years. OBX Housing will also look for visible signs of issues with your roof and/or siding and gutters as well as tree trimming and/or shrub pruning. Many times we find vines growing into the outdoor unit of the HVAC system that must be removed in order for it to operate properly.
OBX Housing Broker(s) will go through the house and take photos both inside and out which we will then publish the Inspection Report to your Owner Portal so that you can see all of our comments and documentation of any items that need your attention now or in the future. The Landlord will receive an email advising that an Inspection Report has been published to your Owner Portal. If you do not have access to email or the Owner Portal we then call and discuss these items with you by phone. We are able to get estimates for you of any work that needs to be considered.
OBX Housing will talk to you about your Tenant and how they are taking care of your Outer Banks Rental property. At that time we will discuss with you their payment history and possible rental increase as well as any changes to their family or marital status that may affect the rent payments. We do not recommend that you permit your Tenant to go “month to month” because many of the leases only require a 30-day notice to vacate which is not beneficial to the Landlord because getting the home re-rented so that the Landlord will not suffer a loss of revenue is difficult in just 30 days. If an agreement were negotiated to permit your Tenant to stay on a month to month lease (for example they are building or buying a home) we would recommend they sign an addendum with a rent increase and provide they give a 60-day Notice to Vacate. If your Tenant were to submit a Notice to Vacate we would contact you regarding securing a new Tenant as well as new Lease rental rates and terms and immediate post the home to our website, Facebook and the many other online media marketing sites we use. Our specialized software provides us with 82 marketing sites!