What Makes Royal Rose Properties Different?
Different in a good way.
Recently, one of our employees — the wonderful young woman who represents us at all of the local trade shows and association gatherings — asked me a question that really got me thinking. “What makes Royal Rose Properties different from the other property managers in the Metro Detroit area?”
It was a strange question, because to me, the differences are obvious — but as we thought about it, we realized that they’re mostly ‘behind-the-scenes’ things that you probably wouldn’t notice (and might not know what to make of them if you did notice)!
So we figured we’d take a moment and tell the people who (may someday) live in our houses what sets RRP apart from other property managers.
To Applicants: We’re Demanding, but We Have a Heart
From the perspective of someone applying to live in one of our houses, Royal Rose Properties admittedly asks for a lot. We insist on getting at minimum an un-redacted bank statement, a couple of unedited paycheck stubs, actually talking to your last landlord or three, and of course we run the standard criminal and credit checks. Compared to most landlords, it’s a lot of paperwork — but we feel like it’s absolutely necessary to protect our owners from ‘bad apple’ tenants that can cost them a load of money.
…But! Unlike most landlords, we don’t just instantly trashcan your application if you happen to have a bankruptcy, an eviction, bad credit, or even a felony record. Instead, we give every applicant an opportunity to explain the circumstances that led to those ‘red flags.’ Then we investigate their explanation thoroughly, and if it checks out (and it actually alleviates the risk posed by the ‘red flag’) we approve the application. Because we know that sometimes, stupid things happen, and we don’t think that someone who is actually willing to lay it all on the table should get penalized if the stupid thing doesn’t actually matter.
To Tenants: We’re Strict, but We Work With You
Some of our tenants get alarmed when they receive their third or fourth eviction notice in as many months. To them, we say “Well, start paying your rent on time, and we’ll stop sending eviction notices.” Royal Rose Properties doesn’t ever let a rent due-date go by without sending an eviction notice, no matter how long you’ve been a tenant, no matter how many months in a row you’ve paid on the 7th, no matter what. (Why? Because it’s in our owners’ best interest to evict problematic tenants without even a single day’s delay if that’s what it takes to get a property back to profitability.)
…Unless! If you’ve made prior arrangements with us and we know what to expect (and we have it all in writing), we will make an exception as long as it’s reasonable. And even more importantly than that, if you volunteer to work with us to put together a plan for getting and keeping on top of your rent, we’ll do it. As one person wrote about an RRP employee last Tuesday, “I give Winston in Evictions and Collections a thumbs-up. He really helped me out when I was financially strapped and kept me out of trouble with the courts. Thanks Winston you are the MAN!”
In short, if you work with us, and you’re on the up-and-up, we’ll work with you. All we ask is your patience and honesty.