Owner FAQs

All Owners receive payment through direct deposit. If you proceed with listing your property with DPM, you will electronically receive a packet starting with the specific Management Agreement for your property. Once signed, you next receive an ACH Authorization form for direct deposits, a separate W9 Form for taxes (pdf format), and an Info Sheet to complete with specific details about your property.

Residents’ rent is due on the 1st and considered late after 5pm. If Residents pay late, it can impact the Owner Draw (See below FAQ “When do Owners get paid?”). DPM will notify the Owner if the Resident has not paid in full by the 10th. If Residents request a payment plan that extends payment after the 10th, we will reach out to the Owner, for permission. DPM’s goal is full rent collection on the 1st every month, and we set that standard with Residents from the beginning.

Owners of rented properties with paying Residents receive their Owner Draw monthly, generally by the 15th of the month. If Residents pay late, it can impact the timing and amount of the Owner Draw, dependent upon when the payment is received. DPM has procedures for late payments and follows up quickly with Residents regarding late rent. We will notify the Owner if the Resident has not paid in full by the 10th. Monies collected after the 10th will be reflected in the following month’s Owner Statement.

Residents are HIGHLY encouraged to pay electronically using their Online Portal. Should a Resident have payment reversed for Non-Sufficient-Funds, we may require them to make future payments in Guaranteed Funds, such as a bank check or cashier’s check.

Great question with an involved answer. Speed of the application/leasing process is influenced heavily by: 1) Competitive pricing of your property, based on condition, location, and other factors, 2) Availability of renters, which may vary seasonally, 3) Quantity of other available properties that meet your ideal renter’s needs. We live in a military community with a busier rental season from March – August, but that does not mean that a property cannot rent quickly in December! When a property is available for rent, Owners are updated weekly with specific stats, marketing options and suggestions, and questions are always welcome.

DPM has an entire marketing process ranging from things as simple as For Rent yard signs, to targeted Google Ads, to listing properties on a wide variety of over 30 Websites, including Zillow, Rently, and Homes.mil – the site the military uses to help personnel find homes at new duty stations. Leads are pointed to our website, DiscipleRealEstate.com, and we follow up on every Lead. Our system allows for ease of contact and use for questions, scheduling viewings, receiving feedback, and online applications.

When a Lead completes an application, DPM is given permission to run a credit check and criminal background check on Applicants age 18 and older. Those results are processed through a 3rd party system that either recommends approval, denial, or suggests further consideration based on the criteria that we have specified, and are in compliance with federal Fair Housing laws and GA statutes. Applicants are screened carefully and consistently. While we do want to rent your property quickly, we do our best to place qualified Residents! Please know also that we are prohibited by law from sharing specifics of an Applicant’s credit, background check, and personal information, but can tell you if an Applicant meets or does not meet qualifications.

Approximately 70% of people looking to rent have pets, so allowing pets at your rental property increases your chances of quick rental dramatically, and DPM is happy to offer this Pet Guarantee to homeowners to help make this decision even easier! Whether a property is “pet friendly” is ultimately an Owner decision. For properties where pets are allowed, new Residents with approved pets are required to pay a Non-Refundable Pet Fee and additional monthly Pet Rent. In return, Owners of said properties are given a $2,000.00 guarantee by Disciple Property Management for any pet-related damage, above and beyond the Resident’s Security Deposit at Resident Move Out. Residents are required to register any animals through Petscreening.com. Petscreening.com will determine a score for the pet based on a variety of factors (including training history, vaccination records, history, breed, size, etc.) which we use to determine how much additional monthly Pet Rent will be required for the particular pet. Residents are also required to pay a one-time Pet Fee of $200 per pet, with a 2 pet maximum as a general rule. DPM has already saved homeowners money with the Pet Guarantee for pet-related damage that would have exceeded the amount of a pet deposit. These Pet Fees/Pet Rent do show on the Owner’s monthly Owner Statement as “Pet Guarantee” and “Pet Rent” but are retained in a designated account to pay for pet-related damages if required. Owners should indicate in their Management Agreement whether pets are allowed, and if any specific breeds are excluded. Also be aware that prohibiting pets does NOT prohibit registered Service Animals or Assistance Animals, as they are protected by federal law.

It is a legal and security standard that locks are changed between Residents. Every time. Without fail. Disciple Property Management uses a system called Landlord Locks which allows easy and cost-effective-for-the-Owner lock changes between Residents. The initial lock change includes hardware cost, so subsequent lock changes with Landlord Locks cost less. Disciple Property Management actually charges Owners below our cost for the hardware, because these locks are of such benefit long-term. DPM is assured to always have a key to the home, and changing out the locks for future Residents is extremely easy and secure.

Residents are required to provide routine pest control for their DPM property through Preferred Pest control, which includes treatment for pests such as ants, roaches, spiders, fleas, and German roaches. Owners are responsible for termites and rodent control. The pest control charge will be billed to Residents alongside their rent and will be visible on your Owner Statement. DPM then pays Preferred Pest Control with the monies collected.

Residents have an Online Resident Portal to submit Maintenance Requests (as well as to make rent payments.) Our procedure for non-emergencies and emergencies is addressed in the Management Agreement in Section 2, Paragraph E. If a vendor is dispatched for any reason to your property, we will notify you.

When Residents pick up their keys, they receive “Tips for Resident Success” which includes emergency procedures. Emergencies are defined as any event in which the safety or well-being of people or property is endangered. (Think “Fire, Flood or Blood.”) In the event of an after-hours emergency, Residents' first step is to report the issue through their Online Portal, which submits the issue directly to our Maintenance Department. The resident is also required to call the office and leave a message following the Emergency After Hours prompts, which notifies a DPM rep. The DPM representative will respond appropriately to the situation. These emergency procedures are provided to Residents when they pick up keys, they’re on a magnet DPM leaves on the home’s fridge, and are also listed on the After Hours Voicemail of our Office Phone #, 912.452.1777.

Disciple Property Management strongly recommends AGAINST Home Warranties, based on years of experience. With Home Warranty companies, DPM has no control over what vendors are used, how they are scheduled, or the quality of their work. Here are some real examples with personal info excluded:

• True story from DPM – Residents were having repetitive issues with A/C not working. The A/C system was 28 years old. (This is extremely old for an A/C system.) After over a MONTH of multiple calls/emails/follow-ups to the Home Warranty Company, the Home Warranty Company opted to replace only certain parts of the 28-year-old system instead of replacing the whole unit. The out-of-pocket cost to the Owner was over $2,000.00 while the Residents were extremely frustrated in the process. AND partial rent concessions had to be made to the Resident in keeping with Lease terms, due to the length of the repair process.
• True story from DPM – Residents reported the microwave not working. Home Warranty company was contacted. It ultimately took 2 weeks for the Home Warranty Company to dispatch an appliance repairman. The frustrated Residents called DPM several times during this process for updates. When the Home Warranty Company eventually did dispatch a vendor, the repair was determined to not be covered by the warranty, and the Owner ended up replacing the microwave. This could have been determined & resolved weeks earlier by a trusted DPM vendor.
• DPM policy is that if a homeowner wishes to use a Home Warranty, the homeowner will be responsible for filing the claims, getting regular progress updates from the HW company, & coordinating this information with DPM - so that Residents can be properly notified. In the meantime, DPM is still legally required to honor all Lease terms and laws that may require additional action be taken or that financial concessions be given to the Resident. Seriously, Home Warranties are NOT an owner’s friend.

A Security Deposit is collected from the Resident prior to Move In. Also prior to Move In, DPM conducts a thorough Move In Inspection with photos of the property. When the Resident moves out, DPM will conduct an equally thorough Move Out Inspection. We will then contrast the inspections from the Move In with the Move Out, and if there are damages to the property beyond what is considered normal wear-and-tear, we will note those damages. Within 3 business days of Move Out, DPM is required to send the Resident a Move Out Statement listing those damages and the estimated amount of funds we intend to withhold from the Security Deposit for each line item. The Residents may Agree or Dispute items from the Move Out Statement, and DPM has procedures to assess and address any disputes. GA law requires that the Security Deposit be processed - meaning the appropriate withholdings are finalized or the Security Deposit is returned to the Resident within 30 days of move out. Any funds withheld from the Security Deposit will be deposited to your account or can be used toward any needed repairs for the property that DPM is overseeing.

Your home is your investment and we have total respect if you wish to sell at some point instead of renting. Per the Management Agreement in the paragraph entitled “Exclusive Agency” on page 1, Owners are required to honor the terms of the current Resident’s lease. So, for example, if your current Resident is in a lease that would end in December, you would not be able to remove your Resident from the home in August while the Resident’s lease is still in force. However, with proper notice, DPM could advise the Resident that the lease is not eligible for renewal in December and give them notice to vacate at the end of their lease. Homes can be listed for sale with Residents still in place, honoring the terms defined in the Resident lease regarding notices for showing the property, etc.

DPM focuses exclusively on property management. It's not just a sideline for us. However, if a homeowner decides to sell we will refer you to a reputable local agent.