Author Archives: Coldwell Banker Bain Property Management

The Fair Tenant Screening Act prohibits landlords from charging an applicant for screening without first posting or notifying the applicant in writing of the criteria that will be used to screen applicants?  This must include: What type of information will … Continue reading →

The results of a recently released 2017 survey* of renters reveals tenant priorities.  In this survey, 35% of tenants were in single family rental homes, the rest in multi-family.  32% of tenants had dogs, 30% had cats and 10% had … Continue reading →

Investor clients often want to know the capitalization (cap) rate of a potential property. Cap rate is net operating income (NOI) divided by the sales price or value of the property.  NOI is gross annual income minus operating expenses, but … Continue reading →

The “Mrs. Murphy” exemption to the Fair Housing Act (FHA) doesn’t apply if a real estate professional is involved in the transaction.  The “Mrs. Murphy” exemption is that if a dwelling has four or fewer rental units and the owner … Continue reading →

Despite changes in Washington State law, landlords can still prevent or restrict tenant marijuana use on a rental property.  Much like smoking cigarettes, landlords can prohibit legal activities.  As for medical marijuana usage, tenants are not protected under the Americans … Continue reading →

The Washington Landlord/Tenant Act specifies the length of time an owner or property manager has to respond to a problem.  The time to commence repairs will vary, depending on the nature of the defective condition.  Once begun, the repair must … Continue reading →

The Dupre and Scott’s March survey of 20+ unit apartments reports that almost 9,500 new apartments were opened in 2016. 12,700 are expected this year in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties and 62,000 more are planned between 2017 and 2020. … Continue reading →

The Washington State legislature has passed a law to help property owners remove squatters. A new law passed in May 2017, which goes into effect 90 days after passage, allows property owners to have squatters removed by law enforcement without … Continue reading →

The majority of landlord-tenant disputes are arguments over the landlord withholding part or all of the tenant’s damage/security deposit.  Typically, disagreements arise when landlords and tenants disagree about whether the tenant is responsible for repairs or cleaning and/or whether tenants … Continue reading →