Property Management

Sagareus Real Estate is the Puget Sound's Investor Choice Property Management Service. 

We developed our management service offering with the active real estate investor in mind. "Retail" landlords will benefit from our approach as we view your property as an asset, a vehicle designed to produce income for you and your family.

Our aim is to maximize revenue, reduce expenses, prevent major repair issues in the future, and provide accurate reports so property owners can make informed business decisions.

Please use the links to the left to learn how we measure success and accomplish this aim in each category.

Attracting High Quality Tenants begins with preparing the property for photos and showings. We showcase every property in the best possible light by ensuring properties meet the "Rent Ready" Standards.

Rent Ready Standards

• Closet shelving & towel racks intact & secure
• All doors, knobs, cabinets, and windows intact & functional
• Window blinds in all rooms clean, intact and functional
• All switches, outlets, light fixtures, and wall plates clean, intact and functional
• All faucets, sinks, and drains clean, intact and functional
• Prepped & Paint throughout; Patch paint if possible
• Carpet professionally shampooed
• Floor replacement recommended as needed
• Deep clean all unit:

1. Appliances- Interior, exterior, under and behind
2. Cabinets, drawers, shelving - Interior & exterior
3. Windows, trim & doors
4. Bathroom deep clean
5. Floors

A high quality listing, attracts high quality applicants. A high quality rental listing includes appropriate asking price, professional photos, video walk thru and a complete advertisement. Check out our current Rental Listings Here.

From here, we employ dedicated, professional leasing staff ready to answer any additional questions, prequalify prospects and show properties at prospect convenience.  

Application, Screening & Lease Signing

Our online application makes applying from a computer or phone quick and easy.

Once submitted, our team completes the comprehensive screening process including Credit Check, Criminal Background Check, and Eviction History; Next, confirm rental history and verify income. Finally, lease terms are negotiated and confirmed. 

Once applicant is approved and all terms are agreed to, the Leasing Advisor sends the final lease document out for e-signature, collects the Security Deposit and schedules new Residents for Move In!

Quality Tenants expect and deserve quality service. 

Sagareus Resident Coordinator's primary responsibility is ensuring every Resident has a positive experience while residing in a Sagareus managed property.  This responsibility is broken into 3 primary functions:

• Rent Collection - Sagareus has invested in top of line payment processors to allow tenants to pay rent easily, securely, and regularly. Residents have 3 choices:

1. EFT Payment - Residents can log into their tenant portal to pay 1 time or recurring rent payments directly from their checking account with no additional fees.
2. Credit Cards are also accepted for a small fee to the cc company. 
3. Money Order - Finally, some Residents prefer to pay by cash. Sagareus has enabled the Retail Cash Payment option to offer seamless and safe solution for our cash paying residents. 

• Resident Requests - Requests are typically maintenance requests or general inquiries. Maintenance requests are received and scheduled directly with our Resident Coordinator, who typically dispatches our InHouse maintenance team to address the issue. Residents and Owner's alike appreciate this service because issues are resolved quickly at a fraction of the cost as a 3rd party vendor. 

Our deliverables on this key function include 24 hour or less response time and 5 business day or less request fulfillment timeline, obviously maintenance tasks are handled by priority.

Other Resident Requests are general questions, inquiries or complaints; Resident Coordinator is usually able to answer each question with access to our ever growing Resident FAQs page. Otherwise, requests are responded to within 1 business day.

• Lease Renewals / Notice to Vacate - Leases are renewed 60-75 days before lease end date; Rent Increases & Lease Renewal terms are determined by property asset manager; Our process assumes Residents will want to remain in the property, defaulting to this option. 

When Residents decide it's time to move, Resident Coordinator springs into action to ensure Turn Over and re-lease are scheduled well in advance. 

When surveyed, our current investor-owner clients pointed to our InHouse Maintenance program as the primary reason they stay with us and refer us to their networks.  

• InHouse Maintenance Team

Sagareus has invested in developing an InHouse Maintenance team that allows us to provide superior Resident Services, Turn Over Units in 10 days or less, and complete regular preventative inspections -- all at a fraction of the cost to our Client-Owners. 

Property Maintenance ensures your investment is protected over the long term. Through a series of regular maintenance inspections and functions, maintenance problems are prevented BEFORE they become a major problem. 

• Standard Preventative Turn Over Checklist

The primary goal of the Preventive Maintenance Checklist are to prevent common problems post move in. This effort reduces costly maintenance calls and keeps happier, longer term tenants. The tasks below are done in conjunction with any other turn over work and the combined effort reduces overall cost for the property in the short and long term.

1. Change locks, provide 4 sets of keys
2. All light fixtures/bulbs checked & functional
3. Windows: Scraped, primed with Kill Mold Preventing primer, re-sealed.
4. All drains checked & snaked
5. Appliances: Checked all lights & functionality
6. Drip pans replaced (material billed to tenant)
7. Dryer Vent cleaned
8. Bath Fan deep cleaned & serviced
9. Heaters deep cleaned & serviced
10. Smoke Alarm & CO2, batteries changed
11. Wood surfaces sanded & polyurethane applied
12. Linoleum installed under sinks
13. Weather Stripping checked, replaced as needed
14. Patio: Check for mold, wood rot, safety
15. Post Construction cleaning (Wipe down surfaces, sweep & vacuum)

• Common Area Maintenance (CAM) Program

Last but not least, all properties are enrolled in the CAM Program, which systemizes property maintenance designed to reduce costly maintenance calls and necessary work at turn over.

Single Family Residence

Annual Inspection

Conducted 6-8 weeks prior to lease renewal; Owner to receive complete Property Inspection with pictures + recommended repairs / maintenance

2-40 Unit MultiFamily Property

Completed 2-4x / month

1. Clean all common interior of building + replace out light bulbs
2. Ensure all exterior doors are shut & locked - Check/adjust door closers
3. Pick up litter/sweep exterior parking area and sidewalks
4. Clean Exterior & Interior Entry
5. Take out garbage common area garbage + clean up dumpster area
6. Trim bushes, branches, mow grass
7. Check gutters, downspouts + exterior drains for clogs
8. Check emergency lights
9. Clean up storage rooms

Monthly Project

1. Jan CAM + Service Fire Extinguishers / Fire Safety
2. Feb CAM + Dryer Vents, snake or replace dryer vents
3. March CAM + Key Audit
4. April CAM + Parking/garage Deep clean; Remove junk, power wash oil stains, repaint if needed
5. May CAM + Spring Cleaning - All unit dump run, Deep clean/organize storage areas
6. June CAM + Exterior Paint: Touch Up Front door, Trim, Hand Railings
7. July CAM + Maintenance Choice Project - $200 or less supply budget
8. Aug CAM + Roof & Gutter Clean + check
9. Sept CAM + Winterization
10. Prep exterior for winter, shovel and salt on site, covered hose registers, trim trees/bushes as necessary
11. Oct CAM + Inspection Circle Back
12. Service Heaters, check weather stripping, smoke/co2, bathroom exhausts
13. Nov CAM + Laundry Room; Deep clean, Touch Up Paint
14. Dec CAM + Common Area appliance / meter audit 
15. Check expiration dates, functionality of common area water heaters, electric / water meters)

Basic Bookkeeping includes receiving and recording rent payments, property bills and invoices. Of course, our team fulfills this basic function for all properties.

Sagareus has tasked the Accounting Department to challenge bills on behalf of our clients. Rather than merely receiving, paying, and recording a bill, our Accounting Team is expected to critically examine each bill and make suggestions to reduce costs.

We do this by comparing what other clients / properties are paying, so we understand the averages; When we find an outlier, our team is empowered to speak up and offer ways the property can save on expenses. With this policy in place, our accounting team has made recommendations to reduce costs in the following ways:

• Reduce Utility bills through minor upgrades to toilet flappers or faucet aerators
• Reduce property tax cost by challenging tax assessments
• Reduce insurance costs by comparing / negotiating policies

Utility Bill Back

In addition, Sagareus DOES NOT put water / sewer bills in tenant names.  Instead, Sagareus receives all bills and then "bills back" the tenants by adding the utility charge to the resident ledger. 

1. Sagareus receives the utility bill
2. Sagareus pays the utility bill out of owner operating account
3. Sagareus adds the exact amount to the tenant's ledger to post during upcoming rent cycle
4. Tenant pays entire ledger amount
5. Sagareus accounts for utility income as "Utility Recovery" 

Sagareus does this for 4 reasons:

1. Reduces Utility expense by collecting 100% of utility costs from the tenant(s)
2. Allows management to watch for high usage, which indicates a leak or extra people living in the property
3. Allows management to ensure utility bill is being paid regularly
4. Reduces admin work of changing names between every resident

There are several reports generated by the Sagareus team throughout a management cycle: 

• Rental Owner Report - Each month, Client-Owners receive a comprehensive Rental Owner Report, outlining the previous month's Profit & Loss.  This document allows the entire team to see the result of their effort in concrete terms. 
• Move In / Move Out Condition Reports - At Move In, Resident Coordinator meets with incoming Residents to produce the Move In Condition Report.  Team members are trained to take as many pictures as possible with a focus on high ticket items including window coverings, appliances, flooring, walls and doors.  At Move Out, the Maintenance Manager repeats the same process, taking as many pictures as possible with a focus on items they plan to repair or replace during the turn over.  The Move Out Condition Report is used to determine what items can be billed back to Residents and what will be left for the Rental Owner to cover. 
• Initial & Annual Inspection Reports - At Initial On-boarding, Maintenance will inspect your property, checking for Safety Compliance, any cleanliness / mold issues, leaks, and any long term planning items that may need to be addressed.  Maintenance will conduct the same Inspection Annually for each property. 
• Sample Reports
  • Move In Condition Report
  • Rental Owner Statement