Service Animals and Companion Animals In Your Rental In Colorado Springs

Brought to you by Muldoon Associates, Inc. - Exceptional Property Management in Colorado Springs, Fountain, and Pueblo Areas!

Let's begin by distinguishing the difference between a service animal and a companion animal.  According to Jorgette Krsulic with Colorado Casa REALTORS in Colorado Springs, CO there are differences between a service animal and companion animal.  A service animal has specific training in order to assist the person for various tasks.  For example a dog that is trained to retrieve items for a person who can't walk.  A companion animal is not necessarily trained and is used primarily for emotional support.  If you aren't aware, persons with disabilities are a protected class under fair housing and reasonable accommodations must be made.

Like many things in this world there is lots of gray in the term "reasonable accommodations".  What I do know is service/companion animals ARE NOT CONSIDERED PETS!!!!  Your "no pet" policy does not apply to either of the animals.  The Office of Fair Housing compares services animals to wheel chairs.  They are a tool for the mentally or physically challenged person and ARE NOT CONSIDERED PETS!!  I cannot stress this enough.  If a person has a service or companion animal you CANNOT charge an additional deposit.  The type of service animal is not restricted to dogs or cats, people have all types of pets as companion and service pets.  There are no breed restrictions for service/companion animals.  There is not mandatory documentation for a person to have a service or companion animal and if a disability is visible (i.e. a limp) you cannot ask the person for any information regarding the disability.


I'm going to keep this short and sweet but I'll make sure to post another blog shortly that goes more in depth with reasonable accommodations.  If you have any questions regarding property management of your home in Colorado Springs or Pueblo West please don't hesitate to contact Muldoon Associates, Inc.!

Pilot Series -How To Procure Quality and Qualified Tenants - Property Management Colorado Springs #1

Pilot Series

Hello All,

I have dubbed this the "Pilot Series" for obvious reasons.  This is the first series of how to articles I will be posting.  We will start with "How To Procure a Quality and Qualified Tenant".  This is very important for property managers in Colorado Springs and landlords of all types!  Having a good quality qualified tenant in your rental property will help keep your property in tip top shape, your rent paid on time, and a happy lease cycle!

In my experience there are a few things that should be done right from the beginning to attract qualified and quality tenants to your property.  You will want to make sure the property you are planning to rent does not show signs of disrepair or abuse.  The property should be well maintained to show the tenants you are a responsible landlord.  A quality and qualified tenant will not be interested in a property that's not well maintained this is very important!

Once the property is in rent ready condition you will need to create advertisements that attract the tenant's you are looking for.  Make sure all online advertisements have numerous high quality photo's and video if possible.  There should be a detailed description of the property and make sure to highlight any unique and desirable features of your property.  Stay away from dramatic descriptive words and try to focus on the facts of the property.  Your description should be reinforced by the pictures and vice versa.  This will help prospective tenants to get a good feel for the property and will save you time when it comes to showings.

Ok as of now you have a rent ready property and it's advertised in as many places as possible!  What's the next step?  THE PHONE STARTS RINGING!  Tenant's can't wait to see your property!  Don't get too excited, you need a way to avoid the folks who are not quality or qualified.  You should have a list of minimum qualifications for the prospective tenant's to review prior to viewing or applying for the property!  Be careful when creating this list of qualifications.  You do not want to unknowingly volunteer yourself for HUD violations.

Your objective with this step is to eliminate the bad eggs right off the bat and to give each interested party an opportunity to know what you will be looking for to approve them.  This process will result in more productive showings and less wasted time.  Again, we are only interested in working with qualified and quality tenants so we are doing what we can right from the beginning to ensure this is the case!

Feel free to email me at Daniel@muldoonassociates.com and I will send you my list of qualifications  FREE.  I also have other leasing documents and lease packages available.

I'm going to end here and we will continue this process in "Procuring Quality and Qualified Tenants #2". 

How To Deal With Water Damage In Your Colorado Springs Rental Property PART 2

How To Deal With Water Damage In Your Rental Property PART 2

Brought to you by Muldoon Associates, Inc. - Exceptional Property Management in Colorado Springs, Fountain, and Pueblo Areas!

Black Water

The second part of this two part series is going to go into detail about "black water" or water that is contaminated by sewage, asbestos, or any other harmful substances.  Black water is a major health hazard if not extracted properly and in a timely manner.  Extraction of black water by a person not certified should never be considered.  Special suits, breathing equipment, and disinfectants must be used!  Make sure you hire an IICRC certified company, I can't stress this enough!

Although black water is commonly caused by a main sewer line back up, fresh water that has sat too long without drying typically transforms into black water.  Since water absorbs dirt, debris, and contaminants if it's not cleaned up quickly the extent of the job will increase and the damage will worsen.  If the water is allowed to sit long enough mold will begin to grow and this creates another problem and a larger extraction job.  The point of this article and the previous water damage article is to keep you from having any additional problems arise should you have a backup or fresh water issue.  Act quickly, hire the right company, document condition and repairs and keep all this information available for future sale of the home!!!

Thanks for reading and please stop by our website at www.muldoonassociates.com, our property management specific website, www.muldoonassociatespm.com or contact me if you have any questions or comments on this blog or property management in Colorado Springs, property management in Pueblo, or property management in Fountain!

Who We Are- Property Managers Colorado Springs CO

Who We Are:

Muldoon Associates, Inc. is a full service real estate company.  We are family owned and operated and have been doing business in the Pikes Peak Region since 1981!  We handle distressed property sales, resales, new builds, small commercial, residential property management in Colorado Springs, Pueblo West and Fountain Areas, homeowner's association management, tenant placement services, real estate counseling, and real estate investing services.

Our company strives to provide professional services with a personal touch!  We have created this blog and these how-to articles and videos to help anybody who is involved in real estate property.  We will cover things like how to find a qualified tenant, how to use homepath.com when purchasing Fannie Mae listings, what to look for during inspections, and many more topics!

We hope you enjoy our venture into blogging and we encourage questions comments and support!  Feel free to email us with topics you are interested in seeing.  You can visit our website at muldoonassociatespm.com to view our current inventory or listings and rentals!  We also have information regarding HOA management in Colorado Springs, CO  and contact information.

Thank you for taking the time to be a part of this property management in Colorado Springs and real estate "how to" blog!

Sincerely,

Daniel Muldoon