• ٭Hire someone to clean, paint, or make repairs
• ٭Advertise, take rental calls, and show the property
• ٭Execute a rental agreement, worry about adding addendums, fill out move-in inspection report, and deposit money
• ٭Have tenants calling you at all hours of the day and night.
• ٭Confront tenants concerning paying the rent on time or taking better care of the property and keeping it clean
• ٭Collect NSF checks
• ٭Serve legal notices or start an eviction
• ٭Schedule and fill out the move-out inspection report
• ٭Mail tenants accounting report and refund check
• ٭Repeat the same process all over again when the house is vacated.

• Do you know all of the landlord/tenant laws for your city, state, and federal government?
• Do you know The Law of Real Estate Agency and legal requirements?
• Do you know the law about mold issues and the law regarding it.
• Do you know The law on Lead Based Paint issues, how it can effect your tenants and you?
• Do you know rent values, vacancy factors, and time on the market in your area?
• Do you have a rental application and consistent screening policies that meet your entire legal obligation?
• Do you take the time to perform thorough move-in/move-out written inspections and routine property inspections?
• Do you personally know reputable painters, electricians, roofers, chimney cleaners, carpenter, furnace and appliances repairmen who are licensed, affordable, and reliable?
• Do you effectively confront and negotiate with the tenant and enforce the terms of your rental agreement?
• Do you have the ability to recover NSF checks, evict tenants and collect bad debts?

Liabilities (To avoid lawsuits by tenants)

• There are certain things you can do to limit your liability when renting your property.

• Are you up to date on the law? See the Landlord Tenant Act.

• Do you know The Law of Real Estate Agency and legal requirements?

• Make sure that there is no debris in or around the unit.

• Be aware of mold issues and the law regarding it.

• Ensure that there are no missing broken or loose walkways, steps, railings, doors or flooring.

• Ensure that all utilities are in good working order.

• It is vital that all doors, locks and windows open and close properly for ingress/egress, and for security.

• Make sure all rooms have a smoke detector in good working condition.

• The law on Lead Based Paint on units built prior to 1978. Please make sure that there is NO loose, chipped or flaking paint due to possible lead based paint causing illness. We have a booklet on this free of charge.

• All appliances supplied by owner must be in good working order

• All property owners must carry basic "liability" insurance on a rental. Its the law.

Lighting - All burned out bulbs should be replaced and all sockets should have a light bulb. There should be lighting both inside and outside to prevent accidents and acts as deterrent to keep criminals away. Good lighting inside means you have two-way switches at the bottom of all stairs and that the tenant shouldnt have to walk across a dark room to turn the lights on. Good lighting outside means that the steps going up to the front door are well lit. Your house number should be well lit and can bee seen from the street. We suggest a motion sensor light be installed to light up your backyard.

Lock The Landlord Tenant Law requires that all rental properties be equipped with "reasonable" locks due to safety reasons. This is an area of high liability for landlords. All exterior doors must have a deadbolt lock. Sliding glass doors must have locking bars or pin-locks. All windows must lock, especially ground level windows. Keyed locking doorknobs on interior doors must be removed. Passage locks, such as those found on bathroom doors are allowed. We will need a minimum of two sets of keys. Please make sure that they all work. After the tenant moves in, we will re-key all the locks for the tenants security.

Painting A nice clean, white paint job throughout will give the house a clean look. We recommend you use a good white, latex semi-gloss paint. If you are not able to do it yourself, we can recommend someone to do it for you.

Repairs - Everything in the house must be in good working order. All appliances must be operational. If a dishwasher, microwave, or washer and dryer are provided, they must be in good working order, repaired or replaced when they breakdown due to normal use. Toilets and faucets must have no drip.

Roofs and gutters They must be cleaned and in good condition. Depending on the location of the house, they may need frequent cleaning, such as if its underneath a pine tree. Otherwise, they need cleaning on a yearly basis.

Security Systems If there is one on your property, make sure you write out the instructions on how to use it and also the code. If its a monitored system which you subscribe to, please contact that company by means of a letter that you will be vacating the property and find out if the tenant can take over the payment or restart a new account. You need to give them our name, phone number and address and that we will be representing you as Property Manager. We will notify the company when then new tenants move in.

Septic Systems Septic tanks must be pumped every four years. It would be good to have a map drawn of the location of the tank.

Smoke Detectors There must be working smoke detectors in the home. There should be at least one smoke detector on each floor of a multi-level home. There must be one for each bedrooms or sleeping area and in hallways leading to the sleeping areas. We make sure that the batteries are replaced prior to the new tenant moving in. You must do this as this is required. Otherwise, this will be a charge to your account.

Sprinkler Systems It would be a good idea to draw out a plan of the system showing where the pipes are laid. Please make sure that your system works well. We also need instructions for "winterizing" your system.

Utilities Power and water are necessary so please DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING SHUT OFF!!! Notify the power company that you want a "never discontinue" or "never disconnect" on the property. This will insure that the utilities are not shut off when the tenant vacates. You need to decide whether you want us to handle the payment of the vacancy utility bill. If so, this amount will be deducted from your account. If you have oil or propane heat, please leave about 100 gallons or one-months worth of fuel usage. If you have a maintenance contract with your fuel company, they may require that fuel be purchased from them. Please inform us of the companys name. If you have Pierce County Sewer, notify them that we are your Property Manager. Make sure that you discontinue garbage service, cable t.v., telephone, high speed internet and newspaper subscription.

Window Coverings It is recommended that you have blinds or drapes cover windows, specially in the bedrooms. We would not want the tenants to cover the windows with sheets and blankets, which is not the look that we want to present to your neighborhood.

Yard Maintenance Curb appeal is what will draw potential tenants to the house. Grass should be cut, weeds pulled or killed, and areas of gravel and beauty bark cleaned. Any tender care needed on special plants such as roses, please let us know and point these out during a walk through. If there are holes on the ground, make sure that they are covered to avoid any possible injuries. Also, if there is a swing set, it would be a good idea to remove it, or you may end up replacing it in the future, or be sued because a tenants child is injured. If your yard is beautifully landscaped, it is recommended that you use a professional yard maintenance company. We can recommend some good companies who are able to do this. The lawn must be cut when it is vacant. We can hire someone to mow it during the vacancies.

Hopefully, you will consider that a well maintained home is easier to rent.

Donald Jay Leske II and wife Emiliana Leske provide management for property owners.  Married for over 40 years and have been in the property management field for over 30 years. They are both members of the Olympic Rental Association (ORA), the NWMLS, NARPM, and the Board of Realtors.

Donald is a Licensed Real Estate Agent, Owner & Designated Broker at BCI Properties, LLC. He is very knowledgeable with building codes and home maintenance and repairs.

Emilianas expertise is in the accounting and office management field. She is a licensed real estate agent in Washington State. She has worked for large corporations as an accountant for over 25 years. She has done extensive collection and investigative work for rental properties.

BCI Properties, LLC take pride in specializing in the management of single-family homes and multi-family units in Pierce County. We want to make sure that the homes we maintain are in the best shape they possibly can be. All in house maintenance performed are managed and supervised by BCI Properties, LLC.

We understand how difficult and stressful moving can be and what a burden it can add to your finances having to maintain another home. Our commitment is to rent the home as quickly as possible with good quality renters who will take care of the property and value it like you have. We advertise our rentals locally and nationally and work with the Military Relocation Network and Section 8 services.

We strive to have good personal relationships with our clients and tenants.

We can also assist you in finding rental properties and also assist owners to sell their home. As a real estate agent, we come in contact in a lot of people looking either to buy or rent.

In summation, our goal is to...