I would like to congratulate you on your rental property purchase in SW Florida. My name is Lisa Cramer and I own L. Cramer & Associates Property Management here in Florida. I have been in property management for five years in this area. Although my office is located in Cape Coral, my staff and I cover a territory that includes the cities of Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and Lehigh Acres. My office presently manages over 600 properties and has a large staff. Each department is compartmentalized, which enables us to offer you fast, personalized service.

 

Our company started out and continues to thrive using innovative means. For example, we spend between $5,000-$10,000 per month in local advertising campaigns to get your property leased quickly and keep it leased with a proprietary advertising campaign called "LISA THE LEASER". I have a television commercial that has been nominated for an award. I utilize radio for advertising through two of the most popular stations in this area - KROCK (the most popular rock and roll radio station in this area) and GATOR COUNTRY (the largest country and western radio station within listening distance) and the most popular Latino radio station in this area. In addition, I purchased an antique car that is a replica of the famous "Ghost Buster" automobile from the well-known movie, Ghost Busters. We use this around town and include it in some very popular large events here in Cape Coral, and it garners some serious attention and name recognition for the "Lisa the Leaser" advertising campaign. Billboards have also been very successful and I use these in both Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres. The web sites have ballooned into a successful advertising medium for all markets and I have joined several well-known rental web sites. Previously, under the logo of  "Lisa The Leaser", we sponsored a rock concert here in town with ZZ Top.

 

If you are building a new home, the builder may contact our office and schedule a property walk-thru for you as it nears completion. If you are unable to be present, one of our Field Representatives will conduct the walk-thru on your behalf for a fee. At the same time, our staff member will take photos of your property. If you are buying a vacant re-sell property or already own rental property, my staff will pick up keys and walk through your property to evaluate the premise and take photos at no charge.

 

If your rental property is already tenant-occupied, my staff will call and make an appointment to conduct a walk-through to assure that all safety codes are being met and will again record the condition of the unit. We always take pictures and will send you a copy of these for your records. After we obtain keys to your rental property, your unit will be added to our website, and other outside advertising campaigns, to quickly find you the perfect tenant if we deem your property as RENT-READY.

 

You may already own property in this area and have decided to change management companies. If that is the case, I will send you the proper forms to sign, and will forward copies to your tenants and to the prior property Management Company informing them of your decision to change companies or hire a professional Property Management company for the first time. My staff will then follow up with letters of our own explaining the process to your tenants. We will also send an additional letter to your prior management company explaining where they may send your files, keys and security deposits, which will be placed in our trust account. There may be some other fees that you could sustain before and after we procure you a tenant. These fees are outlined in our attached Ala Carte menu of additional services.

 

Immediately upon the close of escrow or entrance into our rental program, you must have the electricity/water turned on. I have provided a list of utility companies; please call and set up a landlord account. By doing this, my company will be allowed to control the utilities at that location on your behalf from that point forward. If the utilities have already been turned off, our maintenance company will have to go to your property twice; once to turn your power breakers off and then again to turn them back on again. There will be a trip charge each way for this service (see Ala carte menu of fees).

 

There is a mandatory $50.00 per month fee for vacant homes while we are seeking a tenant for you.

 

Our company will need four full sets of keys to your rental property. If you cannot provide these, and we must make copies of the keys, there is a per key charge. If a set of keys is unavailable to your property, our locksmith will go to the property and create a set of working keys for a fee (see Ala Carte menu of fees). 
 

Lawn care will be necessary if your lawn needs to be mowed before a new tenant moves in. The lawn care fee may vary depending upon the amount of clean-up work needed, the size of your lawn, or the number of times the lawn must be mowed prior to occupancy. My lawn company may need to set up the timer system for your lawn to be watered in accordance to City regulations. Cape Coral will fine homeowners if the lawn is over ten inches high, the lawn is being watered too often, or watered on the wrong days of the week. These items are regulated by Cape Coral for water conservation as well as for the policy for the city beautification program. If your property is on a well system, you may need well treatments so that your sprinkler system can be activated to water the lawn (see Ala Carte menu of fees). 
 
If your home has been vacant for a while, your well system may have algae, which will necessitate the system being completely disassembled and cleaned. If your home does not have a well system, you will need to activate water service in a landlord account in the same manner as stated above.

 

These services are needed in some cases to ensure the integrity of your home during the time it is vacant. If your vacant home has a sewer system which has not been pumped our recently, this may need to be done (see Ala Carte menu of fees) as this service must be performed once a year to prevent sewer backups in the property and or yard.

 

Some of the newer homes being built are located in outer areas of Lee County, which, upon occasion, has allowed vandals the opportunity to break into property for theft or to cause damage. If shutters came as standard equipment with your new builder's home, or if you have storm shutters in your rental property, I would advise that it might be prudent to install storm shutters over the windows to deter vandals from selecting your vacant property as a target. Our maintenance company would have to charge you for a few hours' labor to install the shutters. Of course, the shutters will have to be removed upon move-in of a new tenant at the same cost to you. Paying the maintenance company to install these shutters would be significantly smaller than paying damages or appliance replacement costs should you be burglarized. In addition, any break in would cause an increase in your insurance, as well as causing you to pay the deductible on the insurance. Fortunately, although these break-ins can be expensive and troublesome, they are not very common.

 

If your builder does not provide a mailbox for your property or your existing mailbox is non-functional, then one will have to be purchased and my repairperson can install it for you (see Ala Carte menu of fees). 

 

We have an exclusive contract with a maintenance company by the name of SW Florida Property Maintenance Company. Due to the size of the contract, our customers are offered preferential pricing and treatment. Services are available to our clients seven days a week. Prices are subject to change without notice due to factors beyond our control; i.e., hurricanes, gas shortages, fuel cost increases, increased labor costs or the increased cost of local building supplies. All outside vendors include a mark-up.

 

You must have liability insurance coverage on your rental property. The recommended coverage is $100,000, but the policy coverage amount is determined between you and your insurance agent. A copy of your policy declaration page will need to be sent to my office for placement in your file. If you need an insurance carrier to help with a policy, local agent recommendations have been placed in this packet.

 

After I receive your signed contracts, I will sign and send executed copies to you for your records. Upon receipt of your signed contract, we will add your home to our inventory as "coming soon", or "available now", on our website and will have a sign placed on your property.

Thank you,

Lisa Cramer
Owner/Broker
L. Cramer & Associates, Inc.