Pensacola Property Owner Frequently Asked Questions

We comply fully with the Fair Housing Act. This means that you can not choose to disallow anyone that is a member of a protected class under the act.

We are obligated by ethics and bound by law to be an equal opportunity housing partner.  Realty Masters of FL does not discriminate against race, color, age, sex, religion, familial status, or handicap, nor does Realty Masters of FL work with any property owners that discriminate.

For this reason, when we screen applicants, we only provide credit information, income information, background history, and previous rental reference.  Do not ask us to provide any other information, especially any information that would violate the Fair Housing Act. 

Of course, you can choose to disallow pets and not permit smoking in your home, but you cannot deny a service animal. If you have additional questions on the specifics of the Fair Housing Act, please see our fair housing page.

Yes, we will provide you a monthly report of rent and other income received, as well as maintenance, repairs, and other expenses incurred. This will be provided once a month.  Most owners choose to have electronic funds deposited into their account- in this case- you do not receive a paper statement. You must access your online account to retrieve the statement, but reminder emails are sent each month when the new statements are posted. You can access this 24/7. If you have questions regarding your statement, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Should you have a maintenance issue during the month, or any other issues, we will contact you.

While the reasons our clients choose professional management vary, here are some of the key reasons many people elect professional management over self-management:

• We handle maintenance and emergency repairs, allowing you to sleep at night.
• We enforce collection of rents and serve the proper notices upon failure to pay.
• We understand and apply the correct federal, state, and local laws, keeping you and your investment out of trouble.
• We know the local market, have an extensive network of contacts, and have advertising resources available to us at discounted rates. This allows us to effectively market your vacant home to prospective residents to get it filled.
• After you add up the increased rent we can often command, the discounts you'll receive on advertising, and the company rate we get on repairs, you'll often make more money than if you managed the property yourself!

We have been in the Pensacola property management business for 20 years- in that time, we've seen it all: Hurricane Ivan, Mold, Carbon monoxide leaks, Bad tenants, evictions, vandalism.. you name it, we have a form to protect against it and have a method to try to prevent it.  Don't let your inexperience as a landlord cost you thousands of dollars- let our professional agents manage your rental investment!

Interested in more information about Pensacola Property Management Services? View everything you need to know about Full Service Property Management here. 

Both Escambia & Santa Rosa County have a housing department, which provides financial assistance to those who qualify. The program members are usually single parents, elderly, or disabled who must be approved through the county. 

The housing department agrees to pay a portion, or all, of the rental rate. The check comes directly from the housing office the 1st of each month. The housing department signs a 12 month lease with our company, and the renter, and promises to pay the rental amount, or portion of the rental amount, as long as the renter and landlord keep their contractual obligations. 

We do screen HUD renters the same as we screen our other renters, and renters under the section 8 housing program can be denied based on qualifications.  The housing department performs a rigorous inspection on the property to make sure it’s in acceptable condition and that everything is in working order.  We handle all the paperwork with the renter and HUD, making this an easier process.

The housing department is always in need of 3 bedroom rentals.

Our rental application centers around three areas: credit, income, and rental history.

We use Resolve Credit Partners to help us screen your tenants. They perform a credit check, eviction search, and a background check. We also contact the past two rental references when possible to get a complete picture of the renters history.  You can view our full rental criteria here.

We come to you, the property owner, with the above information for you to approve or deny the applicant if they fall below our rental criteria or if all applicants do not meet all criteria.

To view the full rental criteria to become a Realty Masters tenant, view our application criteria. 

Typically, we charge half the first month’s rent as a leasing fee, with a $350 minimum leasing fee.  For higher end properties, we offer a discounted leasing fee.  Our monthly management fee is 10% and is not charged the month your property is rented or while we advertise it. In fact, there are no fees until we lease your property and move a renter in!  We are proud to offer reduced monthly management fees for active duty military and real estate investors with 3 or more units at 8% monthly instead of 10%. 

Our attorney charges a fee of $4 per month for legal advice. This is added to your monthly management fee or can be charged at one time for $48 for the year. 

We do not charge any fees or surcharge premiums on maintenance and do not profit off maintenance for your home.

There are no fees while your home is vacant! If you aren't collecting rent, we aren't collecting a management fee.

You can view more information about our Pensacola area property management services here and request a free rental price evaluation here.

Because each owner has individual preferences, we leave this up to you! You tell us what you will and won’t accept, and we’ll advertise and screen prospective renters accordingly.  Typically, tenants pay a$250 nonrefundable pet fee per pet at the time of move in.  All pets are to be disclosed at the time of application and will be approved with you, the property owner.

The renter will sign a pet addendum taking liability for the pet and promising to get any pets approved prior to getting them.  We do limit pets based on breeds according to the following list.

Please keep in mind that assistance animals including service animals and emotional assistance animals are not considered pets. Under the ADA and Fair Housing guidelines, a property owner cannot deny an emotional assistance animal or a service animal as long as proper documentation is gathered by our team to document the animal and need for assistance by a third party verifier. You cannot charge a pet fee, monthly pet rent, or deny these animals as they are not pets. 

Direct deposit is usually done to your account by the 10th of each month.  If your rent has not been collected, you will be notified by the 6th of the month.  If you choose to receive a paper check, it should be in your mailbox by the 12th of each month.  Ask your property manager if you would like to upgrade to electronic deposits!

 Your statement access in online, under the Management Services tab.  Click on owner logon, and use the email address associated with your account. If you do not have an account, please ask us and we will be more than happy to set your account up! We cannot look up passwords, however, so if you have forgotten your password, you will need to reset it. We can help with this as well. Just let us know!

Your HERO PM account holds a copy of your current lease, as well as any repair bills or other invoices we may pay on your behalf. The link to log in is here. Please let us know should you need help accessing or creating an account.

We only hire licensed and insured vendors with proper workers compensation!  Most of our vendors have been doing business with us for years, and all of them stand behind their work. Rest assured that we are using well qualified vendors to complete routine maintenance and repairs in your home.  

Realty Masters does not own or operate a maintenance business, nor do we profit off any maintenance done to your property. Some companies charge a maintenance premium but we do not feel right about profiting off your costly repairs. Let us know if you have any questions about this. 

Of Course! Realty Masters tries to get multiple quotes on work when the scope of the work is large, including painting, roofing, flooring, a/c replacement, etc.  In some cases, we are not able to call around for best prices as work is needed urgently in order to prevent further damage. In addition, night and weekend emergencies are assessed a surcharge, and there’s nothing we can do about that, but will only call in dire emergency.  Our staff carries an emergency cell phone which each renter has access to calling. We screen out non emergency calls and call the correct technicians to diagnose the problem as fast as possible when emergences arrive, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

Hurricane season is June 1st through November 30th in Pensacola.

We spend our time preparing for the storm by reaching out to your residents, notifying them of responsbilities, and securing vacant properties. 

Sometimes, owners choose to prepare right before a storm, when materials such as plywood and hurricane clips become scarce. The best way to protect your property is to have hurricane shutters with all necessary hardware at the house.

Over 95% of prospective renters are using the internet to find housing.  Every day, we work to strengthen our internet presence.  Our listings are advertised on over 60 rental websites includes: Pensacola MLS, HeroPM, Craigslist, Oodle, Google real estate, Facebook, realtor.com, Hotpads, Zillow, Trulia, Twitter, and more.  We include at least 10 recent photos of each rental we advertise, and often take video tours and provide floor plans, room sizes, and neighborhood photos and information.

Yes! Realty Masters is a full service real estate company.  

We can research the market to find comparable properties that have sold within the last 6 months. We will also see what is currently listed nearby your home and determine why it hasn't sold.  For your free market analysis complete this form or email: Pam@PensacolaRealtyMasters.com  

Here's an article and video with some advice to consider before selling your tenant occupied property. 

We work daily with investors around the country and keep our eye on all new foreclosure listings hitting the market.  With our knowledge of the rental market and current sales listings, we can help you find another investment property. Email Pam@PensacolaRealtyMasters.com to request a free, weekly listing of the best deals in the Pensacola area, including new foreclosure and short sale properties!