Why Rent vs Buy?
Why buy or rent? Renting Instead of Buying The debate of rent vs buy should be qualified from several vital lifestyle and financial considerations. First, families who rent their homes eliminate routine out of pocket costs such as property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and other expenses involved in homeownership. Secondly, housing flexibility is an advantage for you to stay in one place or relocate to another neighborhood, community, or housing lifestyle for personal or professional pursuits. Thirdly, exiting a lease at the end of an annual rental term is as simple as a 30-60-day termination notice, cleaning the home, and disconnecting utilities. Finally, leasing allows you to relocate your home if you find yourself surrounded by annoying neighbors, their barking dogs, emerging crime, or loss of community conveniences that have changed. Owning a Home Owning a home has numerous advantages for personal wealth building purposes and personal satisfaction. Still, it comes at the price of a long-term commitment and financial responsibility of maintenance and market risk. Homeowners have more flexibility to modify their living space to customize it for personal preferences. Rent vs buy is a lengthy and cumbersome process that takes time and expense that can cost many thousands of dollars to sell and repurchase a home. Be sure to check out our amazing available rentals and other resources for renters! Contact Us We would love to hear from you! So let’s set up a meeting today. Please fill out the form and you will receive an email from us. If you do not get the email in the next 5 minutes, check your spam/junk folder. We will make sure that someone gets in touch with you as soon as possible.
What is the Fair Housing Act of 1968?
What is the Fair Housing Act of 1968? History The United States Fair Housing Act was created in 1968 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Federal Fair Housing Act. This came following a prolonged legislative battle after the tragic assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Act extended the basic discrimination protections from The Civil Rights Act and citizen rights into the the housing market. The Fair Housing Law explicitly prohibits discrimination of housing to people based on race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. Additional amendments were added in 1988 that also included a person’s familial status and disability. The Act protects specific types of real estate activity from discrimination, which include the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings. Fair housing laws make it illegal to discriminate because of Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Handicap, Familial Status, and National Origin. In summary, Fair Housing laws allow people to make housing and financing choices free from unlawful acts of discrimination. Application When managing your property, you must be familiar with the Fair Housing Act to avoid discriminating against people. If an individual feels they may have been discriminated against by you, or a property manager, they can file a complaint with state or federal oversight agencies such as SCHAC (South Carolina Human affairs Commission) or HUD (the US Department of Housing and Development). HUD or SCHAC will complete an investigation of all parties involved in the alleged discrimination claim to determine, had grounds of merit, the case would be tried in State or Federal District Court, depending on the origin of the claim. If a judge decides discrimination occurred, then a Landlord could be ordered to pay civil penalty fines and attorney’s fees. To comply with the Fair Housing Act, property owners and managers must demonstrate that they are consistent with Tenant qualification screening. This is done through maintaining the same qualifying standards of leasing annual rental property. We support the Fair Housing laws of our state and nation as the right way to treat all people equally with fairness and mutual dignity that everyone deserves. Protect yourself against accidental or negligent discrimination claims, and you will avoid a costly lawsuit, by thoroughly familiarizing yourself with the Fair Housing Acts of South Carolina since they incorporate all the essential elements of the federal mandates. Contact Us We would love to hear from you! So let’s set up a meeting today. Please fill out the form and you will receive an email from us. If you do not get the email in the next 5 minutes, check your spam/junk folder. We will make sure that someone gets in touch with you as soon as possible.
Pets and Rental Property
Pets and Rental Property Service Animals: South Carolina law requires a Landlord to allow a registered emotional or support animal to live with its owner. Service animals and emotional support animals are protected under the Fair Housing Law. Our Policy: If you choose to allow family pets in your rental property, you will have a higher number of prospects interested. Conversely, if you say “no pets” in your rental listing, then the number of interested rental prospects decreases to 30% of the people looking for rental property. Families with animals are a significant percentage of the family dynamic today. Real Living Home Realty Group – Property Management requires Tenants to pay a pet deposit of $500 per pet before a lease is signed. If they are emotional support or service animals, the Tenant prospect must show us written proof from a recognized agency that the animal is a registered service animal. When the Tenant vacates the home, our lease requires that the unit must be professionally cleaned. We also require pet decontamination procedures completed before the security deposit is released. In general, if you allow family animals in your annual rental, you attract Tenants that respect your property. Limiting the number, size, and types of pets are the strategic keys to renting your property to Tenants with pets. Best Practices: We believe the best practice is to limit no more than two pets per unit. Weight of pets should also be limited based on the type of flooring you have in the property. If the house flooring is a scratch-resistant surface, the pet weight is not as much of a concern. Allowing pets in your annual rental is typically a strategy that also encourages longer Tenant tenure. Tenants are more likely to renew the lease, because once a family and their pets are comfortable, it is harder for them to relocate. We hope this helps you in your decision process to qualify how to manage your annual rental property and pet requirements. Click here for more information on service and emotional support animals Contact Us We would love to hear from you! So let’s set up a meeting today. Please fill out the form and you will receive an email from us. If you do not get the email in the next 5 minutes, check your spam/junk folder. We will make sure that someone gets in touch with you as soon as possible.