Frequently Asked Questions for Landlords & Owners

Prospective tenants must review and comply with our Application Requirements.

Carolina Moves performs showings with licensed leasing staff in person, with the latest technology in self access showings, with real estate agents, and even virtually at times. Showings on vacant homes are available up to 12 hours per day and 7 days per week including holidays.

Carolina Moves typically screens and approves tenants based on preset qualifications that we go over with you up front. Our staff is trained in issues such as credit screening, reference checking, income verification and Fair Housing Guidelines and will work to secure a qualified tenant in a timely manner. Our software has very strict parameters for determining credit worthiness. In addition, we check all applicants' rental history, criminal history and eviction history and verify employment and identity along with assessing other factors. We are very careful choosing tenants, as we must interact with them on a daily basis. In other words, it's to both of our advantages to choose carefully!

Tenants are responsible for all utility charges, unless otherwise agreed upon in advance and in writing. They must also change all billing information to their name and mailing address as of the move-in date stated on the Lease. Tenants are also required to provide us with their account information for verification of transfer. Between tenants, Carolina Moves will put the utilities in our name and bill you on your next statement.

Your property manager will do a rental comparison analysis of similar units in your area. We have access to the local MLS as well as other software tools to assist us in recommending a rental rate. Additionally, you can feel at ease when working with our team of local experts who know the market from first-hand experience with similar rentals in your area. We are very familiar with properties of all sizes. Based on this information and onsite consultation with your Property Manager, we will determine a competitive rental rate for your property.

Owners are contacted for all major repairs. We do not get prior approval on emergency items or minor repairs under $350. Emergency items may cause considerable damage to your property if not addressed immediately, including potentially harming your tenants.

We advertise on multiple websites. Your Property Manager will also make every attempt to find a tenant through the contacts they have developed as well.

You will have access to our advanced property management software, which will give you access to monthly statements, invoices, lease and management documents, along with move in/out reports. You can access a variety of reports from the software to meet your accounting needs, including the annual 1099 form.

Tenants can pay rent through their resident portal, at local select cash retailers, or by mailing payments. When rent is received, it is immediately placed in a trust account. At this point, all bills that Carolina Moves is directed to pay are paid. The remaining funds are disbursed to you between the 10th and 15th day of the month.

We will perform a move-in and move-out report prior to move-in and following any vacancy. Carolina Moves will also perform periodic evaluations when determining lease renewals, and other various management.

We believe that good tenant relations are critical to the smooth management of your property and timely rent collection. We expect our tenants to comply with all rules and lease terms and we handle that expectation in a businesslike fashion. We believe in maintaining a high level of professionalism when dealing with all of our tenants' needs. While we do want to maintain good relationships with all our tenants, it will never be at our owner/client's expense. We work hard to create tenant relationships, so we are best able to smoothly handle raising rental rates or any problems that may occur. While we want to be friendly with our tenants, we understand that this is a business and have no conflict of interest in enforcing rules or rent collections.

Realistically, your property will not be in the exact condition as when you left it. There will be differences due to normal wear and tear. When we live in a home as owner-occupants, we have a special attachment to the home and it shows in the way we clean, repair and maintain the house in general. Although the tenants we select are screened very carefully prior to approval, they may not view the house in the same was as you or I might. In most cases, they clean and maintain the house as they are expected to, however, it may not be to the same standards. In our experience, if owners desire the yard to stay maintained in the condition in which it was left, it would be in their best interest to hire a yard service to come in on a regular basis to maintain it. These standards apply across the board for regularly maintaining equipment as well, such as HVAC units. Routine maintenance can save an owner from future expenses.

All rent payments are due on the 1st of the month with a 5-day grace period. Our collection processing department begins their efforts if rent has not been paid in full by the 6th of the month. All delinquent tenants are notified on the 6th and any necessary late fees begin to appear on their ledger that day. Our team will continue to attempt to collect the debt per SC guidelines. If the tenant hasn't paid in full on the 11th of the month, the eviction process will begin.

An eviction of a tenant is usually the last resort after all other attempts have been made to either collect rent or rectify an untenable situation. There is a $199 fee charged to the tenant, to process the eviction and this includes all court filing costs and non-lawyer representation, if a hearing is required.

When a tenant breaks his or her lease before the lease period is over, they are responsible for the leasing fee to re-lease the property. The tenant also remains responsible for all lease responsibilities until a new tenant lease starts.

When your tenant vacates, we will provide all required accounting of the tenant's security deposit within the time legally allotted. If there are damages, they will be deducted from the security deposit. We are allowed by law to charge the resident's deposit for rent, damages above normal wear and tear, and any outstanding fees.

When you hire Carolina Moves, we are available 24 hours a day. There is always a senior staff member on call to quickly address emergencies. And, we have access to vendors who can respond in an emergency, no matter what the hour.

No. Carolina Moves in most maintenance cases, we encourage you to use vendors that we work frequently with. We have selected vendors that provide quick response times, and competitive rates. Many of these vendors have done literally hundreds of work orders for us and understand our systems and policies.

Owners receive a monthly account statement on the 5th of each month excluding weekends and holidays. You will see your General Ledger, which is updated every day. This way you can keep track on a daily basis of when rents have come in, what bills have been paid, see copies of invoices, etc. Monthly statements, and documents can be viewed anytime in your online Owners portal.

You wouldn't drive without car insurance or go without health insurance. Similarly, as a landlord, you must have insurance to protect you from the unexpected. We advise all our property owners to consult directly with their insurance agent to be certain they are carrying adequate insurance for their property needs. We require current proof of insurance to be on record in our office for all properties we manage. We also require Carolina Moves LLC to be named as additionally insured. We inform tenants during the move in process that renter's insurance is required. It is also noted in their lease that the owner's insurance does not cover the tenant's personal belongings or any loss they might have during their tenancy.

It is impossible to predict exactly how long it will take to find qualified tenants for your property. A number of factors are involved: the size, location and overall condition of the property, the asking price relative to that of comparable properties in the neighborhood, and the time of year. However, the market time for renting is generally much shorter than the time required to sell the same property, and landlords can usually expect to have tenants within 1 to 45 days. If a property does not rent within this length of time, it is generally a sign that it is overpriced relative to its size, condition and location. Pricing your property correctly and having your property in the best condition possible are crucial to effective marketing and low vacancies.

Pets and smokers are not protected classes. We work with each owner individually on the possibility of accepting pets. We strongly encourage you to accept pets at your property and are glad to review our 3rd party screening process for pets. Homes that do not accept pets will usually lower the number of applicants. We have found that properties that do not allow pets often take much longer to rent. See Carolina Moves pet policy here. You can also work with your property manager to establish a pet fee that works for your property. All of our properties are non-smoking properties. Families are a protected class and we do not discriminate based on family structure or size. We are a very fair and professional management company and take pride in our knowledge and practices, abiding by all Federal, State and Local Fair Housing Laws.

We would recommend that owners maintain a $350 reserve fund for any emergency repairs and billings, which may occur between rent collections.

Our software can easily disburse funds based on pre-assigned percentages. We can also send our monthly reports to more than one owner.

Carolina Moves always attempts to improve your bottom line, and one way is to control expenses. For major repairs, such as re-piping or re-roofing, quotes may be reviewed, and Carolina Moves will get your approval first. However, if there is an emergency, such as a burst water heater, or a routine repair is requested that is under $350, such as a leaking faucet or broken toilet, then Carolina Moves will go ahead with the work and keep you informed. Our third-party vendors are reasonable and reliable. In addition, if it is discovered that a tenant caused the damage, we charge the tenant's ledger for reimbursement for the repair expense.

When we say professional property management we mean it! There is no better choice for your investment and peace of mind.  Our fantastic pricing is secondary compared to our passion for managing your property. Call 864.475.1234 to sign up with Carolina Moves, TODAY!