General Management

How will you keep me informed about my property?

You’ll have a dedicated property manager available by phone, email, or text, plus 24/7 access to your Owner Portal for live reports. You’ll also receive monthly owner statements so you always know exactly where your property stands.

How often do you inspect my property?

We conduct move-in, annual, and move-out inspections, plus additional inspections as needed or upon request. Inspection reports are shared through your Owner Portal.

Leasing & Tenant Placement

How do you find tenants?

We market your property on the top rental websites (Apts.com, Zillow, Craigslist, and others) alongside Landmark’s website and through our local network. We also place a “For Rent” sign at the property when appropriate. Some listing platforms charge a monthly fee depending on property size; we’ll discuss any of these costs with you upfront.

How do you determine what qualifies as a bedroom?

Landmark follows the bedroom standards established by the City of Bellingham. To be counted as a bedroom, a room must meet the following criteria:

Minimum size: 70 sq. ft., with no dimension less than 7 ft.
Egress: door to a hallway or main living area.
Window (emergency escape and rescue):
- Single-family homes: every bedroom must have its own emergency escape and rescue opening (EERO): minimum openable area of 5.0 sq. ft. on the first floor, 5.7 sq. ft. above.
- Multifamily dwellings: bedrooms are not required to have individual EEROs if the unit has two means of egress.
- A bedroom may be windowless if it has an air return vent and the unit meets the two-entry requirement.
Smoke detector: installed inside the room.
Heat source: permanent, capable of maintaining 68°F year-round.
Ceiling height: minimum 7 ft.
Closet: not required.

Key notes

Single-family homes require individual emergency escape openings for every bedroom.
Multifamily units may have bedrooms without windows if the unit has two exits and proper ventilation.
Closets are not required for any bedroom type.

How do you determine the rental rate?

Landmark performs a hands-on review of comparable properties currently leasing in your area, combined with the marketing tools in our property management software, to set the right market rate for your property.

How do you screen applicants?

Every applicant goes through credit, criminal, income, and eviction verification. Our application process ensures that only qualified tenants are approved for your property.

Do I have a final say on approving tenants?

Landmark has established rental criteria to ensure compliance with all applicable rental laws and regulations. We rent to the next qualified applicant who meets those criteria.

Can I limit the number of tenants in my unit?

Landmark follows the two-per-bedroom standard, with consideration for:

Size of the bedrooms
Size and layout of the unit
Physical limitations of the property (e.g., septic capacity)

You cannot limit occupancy below this standard unless one of the conditions above applies.

Pets & Utilities

How do you handle pets, and what fees can I charge?

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) and Service Animals must be approved with proper, qualifying documentation regardless of a property’s pet policy. Landlords may not charge any pet fees, pet deposits, or pet rent for an approved ESA or Service Animal.

If your property is in the City of Ferndale or the City of Bellingham, local regulations restrict what a landlord may charge for a household pet. In these jurisdictions, landlords may charge either a pet deposit or pet rent, but not both. Your property manager can walk you through the specifics.

How do you handle utility billing?

Landmark can help you manage utilities through several billing and cost-recovery options:

Direct billing from the utility or service provider directly to the tenant
Flat monthly utility charges, billed per tenant or per unit
Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS): allocating charges based on actual usage, calculated by either unit square footage or number of occupants

Important

The purpose of these billing methods is to offset owner expenses. Owners may not bill tenants more than the actual utility charges incurred.

Rent Collection & Accounting

When will I receive my rent payments?

Rent is collected by the 7th of each month and disbursed to owners by the 20th via direct deposit.

What happens if a tenant doesn’t pay?

We follow a structured collection process: late notices for unpaid charges go out on the 6th, pay-or-vacate notices by mid-month, and we pursue legal remedies if necessary.

Maintenance & Repairs

How are repairs handled?

Tenants submit maintenance requests in writing, online through their tenant portal or in person. We coordinate with licensed outside vendors and seek your approval for any non-emergency repair above an agreed-upon threshold (typically $350–$500, potentially higher for multi-family buildings).

Can I keep using my preferred vendor or my established maintenance/cleaning staff?

Yes. We’ll set up your vendor in our system so we can easily assign them service requests and make them the first point of contact when concerns arise. We can also assign unit-turn service requests to your preferred vendors to ensure a smooth transition between renters.

Fees & Costs

What are your management fees?

Our management fees are sliding-scale: based on your portfolio size, asset mix, and the complexity of your assets. We’ll give you a specific quote with your proposal; leasing and renewal fees are outlined in our management agreement at signing.

Any other fees I should be aware of?

Yes. Here’s the full list:

Advertising Fee: $55/month for single-family homes, $100/month for multi-family
Renewal Fee: $125 each time Landmark secures a lease renewal
Release Fee: 10–25% of one full month's rent each time the home turns over
Posting Fee: $35 to post rent-increase notices, plus all certified-mail costs to all tenants on the lease
Setup Fee: For single-family, duplex, or triplex properties that are tenant-occupied under an existing signed lease at the commencement of the management agreement: equal to 25% of one month's rent

Legal & Compliance

What if eviction becomes necessary?

We handle the entire process in compliance with local laws and keep you updated every step of the way.

Landmark has a Compliance Program Manager on staff to ensure we stay current with all city, state, and federal housing laws. When legal counsel is needed, we work with several local attorneys to handle the situation.

We also offer Eviction Services for an annual fee to help minimize these costs. Talk to your property manager if you’d like to opt into this service.

Property Owner Q&A