Questions owners ask before they hire us

It depends on the home, where it is and whether it's an annual or seasonal rental. We walk you through it on a short call once we know a little about your property, and every charge is written into your Wagner Realty management agreement before you sign, so nothing comes as a surprise.

It depends on how close you live, how much time you have and how many homes you own. Owners who live out of the area, or who don't want to take repair calls and chase rent, tend to get the most out of full management. If you'd rather stay hands-on, leasing only covers the pricing, marketing, screening and lease, and then you take over.

Ask for a free rental analysis. We look at what similar homes nearby have actually leased for and send you a rent range, annual and seasonal if the home could go either way. Online estimates are a fair starting point, but they can't see the home's condition, its association rules or what's leasing right now.

Yes, we offer leasing only. We price the home, market it, show it, screen applicants against our written criteria and get the lease signed, then hand it over to you to manage.

Start with your current agreement, which says how much notice you need to give. Once that's done, we plan the handover with you: the current lease, the tenant's security deposit, keys, records and any open repairs. The tenant stays in place and keeps paying rent, just to Wagner Realty instead.

Sarasota and Manatee counties, including Siesta Key, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Downtown Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Osprey, Nokomis and Bradenton. If your home is close by but not on that list, ask us and we'll tell you whether we can take it on.

Wagner Realty. Your management agreement is with the brokerage, and rents and security deposits are held in Wagner's escrow accounts. They are never held by us personally.

Rent is collected through Wagner Realty and paid to you each month by direct deposit. Each payout comes with a monthly statement showing what came in and what went out.

You get a monthly statement that shows the rent collected and every expense, with invoices attached for any work done on the home. At the end of the year you also get an itemized summary to hand to your tax preparer.

Every applicant goes through the same written screening criteria: credit and eviction history, income, employment and rental references. Criminal background is reviewed under Wagner Realty's written criteria. The same rules apply to everyone, in line with fair housing law.

It depends mostly on price, condition and time of year. A home that's priced to what's actually leasing nearby and shows well tends to rent faster than one priced high and left to sit. We pass along feedback from showings and tell you if the price needs a second look.

Yes, you choose the pet policy for your home, within what your association allows. Assistance animals, including service animals and emotional support animals, aren't pets under fair housing law, so a no-pets rule doesn't apply to them. We handle those requests under that law.

We follow up with the tenant, send the late notices, including Florida's 3-day notice, and keep you posted. If it goes further, we handle the eviction through the county court process.

Yes. We do a move-in inspection before the tenant gets the keys and a move-out inspection when they leave, so the home's condition is on record at both ends. Vendors also report what they see when they're at the home for service, so problems get flagged between inspections.

You still own it, but the tenant has a right to privacy and Florida law requires notice before entry. Let us know when you'd like to see the home and we'll arrange it with the tenant.

Yes. Many associations here require an application and approval before a tenant moves in. We read your association documents before we list and handle the application with the tenant.

Often, yes. Many Sarasota and Manatee associations set a minimum lease term or cap how many times you can lease in a year. We check your documents up front, so the rental plan fits the rules before the home goes on the market.

Tenants report repairs to us, and there's a 24/7 line for emergencies. We send a local vendor and keep you posted, and the invoice shows up on your monthly statement. How repairs get approved is written into your management agreement.

Hurricane season runs June through November. Before a storm, we help arrange the prep your home needs. After it passes, we check on the home, report back to you and line up repairs if anything needs attention.

Yes. When a home sits empty between tenants or between seasons, we check on it so small problems like a leak or a failing AC get caught early.

You should have it. A policy for a home you live in often doesn't cover a rental, and some policies treat a home that sits empty for long stretches differently. Carrying the right coverage is the owner's responsibility, so talk to your insurance agent.

We manage furnished seasonal rentals with stays of 30 days or longer, plus annual unfurnished leases. We don't manage nightly or weekly vacation rentals. High season here usually runs January through April, and we price high and low season separately.

Yes. Tell us the weeks you want and we block them out before we market the rest of the year.

Wagner Realty does, for the seasonal homes we manage. Florida sales tax and the county tourist development tax apply to rentals of six months or less, and both are collected and filed through the brokerage.