Property Manager Offers Insight Into Difficult Rental Market

In this tight housing market, applicants searching to rent a home should work to improve their credit scores and make sure they have solid references, advises one local property manager.

High home values and mortgage rates have led to more people renting rather than buying, driving rental demand and creating shortages, according to research by Rent.com. The website reports that nationwide, since the COVID-19 pandemic, rent prices have risen nearly 22.5 percent, adding $368 to monthly rent bills.

Real estate values jumped 40 percent in Warren County and 45 percent in the Town of Front Royal from 2018 to 2022. Higher real estate values means higher property taxes for owners. Add in the higher cost of homeowners insurance, driven by climate change disasters and the rising costs to rebuild or make repairs, and property owners must pass along some of that additional expense, said Wanda Snead, a property manager for 30 years in Front Royal who currently manages nearly 100 primarily residential units, including apartment buildings and houses.

Snead and her longtime assistant Lynn Troxell offered some insight into the complexities of property management and tips on how landlords, property managers and tenants can work together for the best outcomes for everyone.

For prospective renters, Snead said that improving credit scores and having good rental references will set an applicant apart and are vital, especially when rentals are in short supply.

She said that at least 90 percent of the applicants for her properties have a subpar credit score of 600 or below, adding that solid rental references help offset low credit scores in some cases. Snead said that prospective renters have had trouble in the past should be honest about it.

"Tell the truth. A lot of people lie to me a lot," Snead said, noting that applicants and tenants commonly misrepresent the truth about their past rental history and their employment status.

Renters should protect themselves by looking into property management companies before signing a lease, she said. How long the company has been in business and the condition of its units are key factors renters should consider, she said.

Snead said that she recently took over a property from another management company that had allowed tenants to stay for more than a year without paying rent.

"I had to come in and evict some of them because they were unable to come up with all the rent they owed," she said, adding that the units were in terrible condition.

She said that situations like those lead to higher rents for future tenants. Plus, landlords must enforce tough rules in an effort to prevent non-payment or damage from happening again.

"I have had to get a little more strict. A lot of this, unfortunately, people bring on themselves," Snead said.

The eviction process takes at least 15 days and requires Snead to appear in General District Court. She then has to have the locks changed and, very often, hire someone to clean out the unit as evicted tenants tend to leave quite a lot behind, Troxell said.

Troxell encouraged tenants to keep open lines of communication.

"People cannot communicate with us enough. Call us every week. If you're having trouble with something, let us know," she said, noting that the property managers try to work with tenants whenever possible to find solutions.

Troxell recounted a recent situation wherein a property owner raised the rent to cover rising expenses. When a longtime tenant said that she wouldn't be able to afford the increase, the property owner lowered the rent back to its original rate in order to keep her because she was a good tenant, Troxell said.

The women said that a good tenant not only pays their rent on time, but also maintains the property and informs management of any issues with the unit. For instance, taking care of appliances means they don't have to be replaced as often, which saves the landlord money so that rents can stay lower.

"I want to take care of the tenants also. A good tenant is very, very important to the success of all of us," Snead said.

Snead and Troxell said that they have become attached to longterm tenants over the years, noting that property management involves more than the finances and logistics.

"It has to be about more than money," Snead said.

They encounter issues of domestic violence and child endangerment and hear both sides of neighbors' spats. And, they said they try to work with tenants who have physical or mental illnesses.

The economic stress on renters has spilled into their South Royal Avenue office. For the first time, they had to call law enforcement to their office this year — twice — to deal with angry and aggressive renters.

"I've been with Wanda for over 12 years and that's never happened in the past," Troxell said.

Added Snead, "People are angry."

This story originally ran in The Northern Virginia Daily.