Property Management Services for Tenants and Owners

Depending on the municipality you are going to be moving to, you will want to visit their city hall to inquire about obtaining an occupancy permit. The purpose of this is so that the city is able to verify the landlord has obtained a passed occupancy inspection prior to new tenants moving into the home and that you are the tenants who have permission to live there. If you have children, a copy of your occupancy permit will often be requested in order to enroll them in school.

If you are going to be living in St. Louis County, not a municipality, your landlord will submit your name to the county for occupancy. Other exclusions apply; we advise calling the municipality for clarification. 

If you are living in a property without an updated occupancy permit, and the city comes to find out, the tenant and the landlord can be charged a fine, or the city can even evict the tenants. Be sure to keep a copy of your occupancy permit on hand in your home just in case the city gets its records confused (this happens more often than one would think).

St. Louis County, surrounding counties, and smaller municipalities within the area require landlords to obtain a passed occupancy inspection prior to new tenants moving into an apartment or home. This means that an inspector working for the municipality will have to be scheduled to come to visit the home and inspect all working aspects of the home, including but not limited to the structure, mechanics, electrical, plumbing, cosmetics, and overall condition of the home. 

The process for an occupancy inspection generally takes anywhere from two weeks to multiple months depending on what work is necessary in order to get the home back into tip-top shape, as well as the specific inspector's character and availability.

Once the contractors have completed their rent-ready work, we have a member of the office walk the property to verify that it is ready for city inspection. Once verified, our staff will coordinate to schedule the inspection. 

During the first inspection, the inspector will usually have a few things for the contractors to correct, and they will let me know if any major systems in the home need repair. At this time, we will have a much better idea of how long it will be before we are able to physically place a tenant, and we will get updated photos of the property to list it online. We will also put together a final list of any additional immediate maintenance issues that the inspector may not have noticed or other punch list items that we feel may cause a tenant concern. We do this to ensure we have a standardized finish across all of our homes. Then, the inspection list will be underway. Once completed, another verification walk will be completed, and once verified, the final inspection will be coordinated with the city. Once the city has approved the inspection, we will be able to move someone in. 

We understand that moving homes is generally an uncomfortable process for everyone. As a property management company, we have come to realize that there is no such thing as a stress-free moving process. From switching utility accounts to organizing furniture and appliance transport to getting your lease signed and keys exchanged- this can be a very overwhelming undertaking. However, we are here to do what we can to minimize the stress for you and your family during the process. 

Once you place your deposit with us at our office, you will receive a non-refundable deposit receipt, as well as the best contact info for our staff to keep in touch during the final stages of occupancy inspection and move-in. 

A member of our staff will give you an update on where we are at with the home and an estimate on when we can schedule the final occupancy inspection and move-in. We usually wait until after the first inspection to list a property for rent so that we are able to inform prospective tenants about the estimated wait time for a particular property. 

Once the inspection list has been verified as complete and we are able to schedule the final inspection, we will then be able to schedule your move-in walkthrough and lease signing. We try to give a one-week buffer between the final inspection date and your move-in date just in case the inspector has anything additional for us to do. This allows us adequate time to make adjustments to your move-in date if necessary. We will update you on the day of the inspection to let you know if things are a go and what the plan is if not. We will always exhaust all options in order to keep the original move-in date and keep things as simple as possible for you as the tenant. 

We understand it is easy to worry about these things; however, that is our job as your property managers. No news is generally good news when it comes to our fast-paced company. If anything is not going according to plan, we will update you as much as possible in order to keep you well-informed on what to expect. 

Generally speaking, all of our homes normally have a minimum of a two-week waiting period from the time you apply to the time you are getting moved in, even if we happen to have a passed inspection and all work is already completed. Most homes we have listed are still in the occupancy inspection phase. If you need immediate housing, we may be able to help; however, we can never guarantee any move-in dates due to many factors regarding the inspection process being out of our control. 

Yes, we have a department of the office dedicated to ensuring all paperwork is filled out correctly, and returned to the rental assistance program promptly. If you have a housing voucher, please note that when completing your rental application so we know that we should not deny your application due to income requirements. A member of our staff will be reaching out to get your landlord packet filled out. 

Yes, we still require a deposit placed at our office in order for us to take any property off the market. We can still submit your rental assistance packet and complete any necessary inspections, but we cannot guarantee the property will be available for you if you do not place a deposit. Anyone could still reserve the property if you do not have a deposit in place. You will not be able to move into the property until the deposit funds are in place. We recommend saving enough money for a security deposit before looking for housing options, as you never know when the perfect home will come along. There are also many separate assistance companies that can provide security deposits for those in need.