How are applicants screened?

Our strongest work must take place with the screening process. Securing great tenants is in everyone’s best interest. We use a proprietary resident screening process that analyzes income, credit, rent payment history, employment history, background check and other factors that indicate the likelihood the tenant we place in the home will perform according to his/her obligations under the rental contract. Note: by utilizing our 21 point scoring card, Rice Real Estate has never had to evict a Tenant we placed into a managed rental property. View Rice Real Estate’s Scoring Card here.

How is maintenance and turnover handled? 

Quickly following up on maintenance requests not only keeps the tenant happy but will also keep the property in good condition. We will advise our owners on what items should be repaired versus replaced, deferred versus immediate. Rice Real Estate maintains a proper balance between tenant loyalty and maximizing income.

Protecting your asset also means using experienced repair and maintenance professionals. Rice Real Estate maintains excellent relationships with highly rated vendors. This allows us to diagnose problems quickly and correctly and fix them right the first time. Rice Real Estate diligently protects your asset by ensuring the rental home is maintained properly.

How do we market and advertise?

Rice Real Estate is serious about finding highly qualified tenants and does everything possible to capture the greatest applicant pool. Our rental properties appear on numerous rental websites, and we advertise to 14,000+ local agents.

Unlike most of the property management companies in Las Vegas, we understand the importance of being available when the prospective tenant has the time. For this reason, we answer and respond to phone calls, text messages, and emails every day of the week, including Saturdays and Sundays. We even post showing videos to YouTube to give the applicant the ability to virtually walk through the rental prior to scheduling an in-person showing. Rice Real Estate’s average days on the market for a “rent ready” vacant property averages 7-10 days.

Our rigorous screening process and detailed scoring system help ensure we secure highly qualified tenants for each rental property under management. By utilizing our 21-point scoring card, Rice Real Estate has never had to evict a Tenant we placed into a managed rental property. 

How much rent will my property bring?

Rice Real Estate performs ongoing rent surveys of the Henderson and Las Vegas markets to stay abreast of changes in the marketplace. We will recommend a rental rate based on several factors, including how quickly you need to rent the property and how the property stacks up against the competition in the local market. Our recommendation is just that—a recommendation. Should you desire, you can have the final say as to the rental rate.

What kind of condition does my property need to be in to find a quality tenant? 

The property’s condition is one of the most important aspects of marketing a vacant rental property. Properties that are not “Rent Ready” when they’re placed on the rental market tend to be slower to rent and attract renters who are not only willing to settle for less than top quality but who treat their rental properties with less care and concern than we want to achieve for our owners. Furthermore, quality renters typically can’t visualize what the property will look like after we do this or that…telling the prospect we’re going to be painting or going to be replacing carpets is virtually useless. The first impression of a vacant property is the lasting impression of that property. That’s why we urge our owners to take care of the basics: fresh paint, clean floor coverings, functional window blinds, and everything in good working order.

Are pets allowed in rental properties?

An Owner makes the final decision if pets are allowed in a rental property. However, keep in mind that 65 – 70% of tenants will have a pet of some type. If you do not allow pets, you are immediately impacting the pool of available applicants.  We can certainly still rent your home, but it might take a little longer, so you could experience extended vacancy and, therefore, lost rent.  If you do allow a pet, a pet profile with the 3rd party company PetScreening will be kept on file along with a pet lease addendum and an additional security deposit collected.

Don’t confuse a “pet” with a “service” or “companion” animal.  It is illegal to discriminate against service animals, so we will absolutely rent to a tenant with a verifiable service animal.  We cannot take any additional security deposit, nor can we decline any specific breeds that we might otherwise not allow in our properties*.

We contract with PetScreening to process the accommodation request. The service animal screening process provides a HIPAA-compliant and secure way of submitting a reasonable accommodation request for an assistance animal (service animals, emotional support animals, companion animals, etc.) that will be reviewed by a third-party legal review team to ensure the accommodation request meets HUD’s Fair Housing Act guidelines.

There is no cost for an applicant to submit an accommodation request. Please make sure you are aware of your State’s laws, if any, for submitting a fraudulent accommodation request.

*In some cases, an insurance policy may contain restrictions, conditions, or prohibitions on the types of animals or breeds on a property. If a request for an assistance animal in a property would violate the homeowner’s insurance policy (i.e. bite history), this may entitle you to refuse the request.

If your insurance carrier would either cancel the insurance policy, substantially increase the costs of the insurance policy, or adversely change the policy terms because of the presence of a certain breed of dog or a certain animal, HUD will find that this imposes an undue financial and administrative burden. However, the HUD investigator will verify such a claim with the insurance company directly.

What happens when my property needs repair?

Rice Real Estate & Property Management’s staff will execute any repair or maintenance costing less than $300. Most repairs costing more than $300 will require the Owner’s approval.

Emergency repairs do not require prior owner authorization. Emergency repairs are defined as property-threatening, where failure to immediately remedy the situation will result in further damage to the property and/or safety of the tenant.

By law, Owners are required to maintain their property in a “habitable” condition for their tenants at all times. Examples of emergency repairs include flooding, no heat, no air conditioning, no running water, electrical sparks, or no functional toilet (if only one toilet). Examples of non-emergency repairs include a lack of hot water or failure of an appliance, including a refrigerator. 

What happens if my tenant doesn’t pay rent?

Rice Real Estate & Property Management enforces a very strict rent collection policy to promote our Owners’ interests. All rent payments are posted on the 25^th of every month and are considered late on the 2^nd day of the month.

For example, April’s rent would post on March 25^th and be due April 1^st. If rent is unpaid on the 2^nd day of the month, we make contact with the tenant and a late charge may be assessed. If the rent remains unpaid by the 3^rd day of the month (or, next business day, if the 3^rd falls on a weekend or holiday) a demand notice for non-payment of rent may be served. The tenant is held liable for the costs of filing and serving the notice.

Under Nevada law, the tenant then has 7 judicial days to pay the rent or vacate the property. In our experience, most tenants will pay full rent before the expiration of the notice. If the tenant does not pay or vacate within the 7 days prescribed, the next step is a court order for summary eviction lockout.

What happens if the tenant vacates and leaves the property needing repairs? 

Rice Real Estate will conduct a move-out inspection of the property once it becomes vacant. We then compare the move-in inspection (including photos) with the move-out to determine what items above normal wear and tear are chargeable to the tenant. To read more about “normal wear and tear” of a rental property, click here.

Who holds the tenant security deposit?

Nevada law requires the Real Estate Brokerage to hold tenant security deposits in a trust account separate from owner funds.

How often do you check on my rental property?

If we have reason to believe there may be a problem (e.g., a call from a neighbor, repeated late rent, or other indicators), we can perform an interior inspection with a minimum 24-hour notice. We can also notify neighbors how to reach us if they have a concern about the property. We also perform regular Quality Assurance checks to ensure the integrity and maintenance upkeep of the rental home.