FAQ's

SIG Property Management is a full-service, professional management, and leasing firm. As Landlord Advocates for our clients, our team handles every process – both large and small – involved in the operation of income properties in a way that ensures those properties are safe, successful, and profitable. On a basic level, our management services include tenant rent collection, lease terms enforcement, maintenance coordination, vacancy turnover work, bill paying and financial reporting, and more. Our leasing services include marketing properties, coordinating vacancy showings, processing comprehensive background checks on rental applicants, and placing the best possible tenants in all our vacancies. To learn more about specific services and to view a complete service list, please visit Our Services Page.  

Our Broker, Mike Shaar, founded S.I.G. Property Management in 1991 with one goal: to improve our communities by providing world-class property management services. Our team represents over 250 investment property owners and manages upwards of 1,300 rental units across 300 properties in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Our management portfolios contain everything from single-family homes to multifamily complexes, to commercial retail and office buildings. 

At S.I.G., we understand that every property and owner is different. Because of this, our compensation structure for professional management and leasing services is based on certain details specific to each property. Typically, we are compensated for management services with a percentage of the gross rents collected monthly. Compensation for residential leasing for management clients is usually one-half of one month’s rent for an annual lease. We can quickly provide quotes for these services with some basic information. We’re happy to go through that over the phone now! 

To schedule a quick chat to discuss what this would look like for you, please click the following link: https://calendly.com/kylescottsig/15min

MARKETING

Our team evaluates the rental market to ensure you have the best return on your investment. We’ll market your property on a host of platforms, maximizing your property’s exposure. Then, your dedicated leasing supervisor will coordinate all property showings.

SCREENING

Each applicant is put through a stringent screening process, which evaluates credit, income, criminal,

and rental history to ensure that your property will be filled with reliable, responsible tenants who take care of the property and follow the terms of the rental agreement.

The duration of our normal Property Management Agreement is 1 Year long.

At S.I.G., we understand that Property Management is a relationship-based business. If you are unhappy with our services, we give you the option to cancel the agreement at any time with a 30-day written notice with no associated fees.

For most owners the only fees they will see from SIG will be for monthly management fees and a leasing fee when there is a vacancy. Besides those there are 3 other fees that could come up: lease renewal fees, coordination fees for large maintenance projects, and a charge if our office is required to go to court on your behalf. S.I.G. Property Management’s goal is to be a company you can trust with your investment property. In that light, we will never charge you any fees without notifying you upfront.

S.I.G. has developed relationships with numerous licensed and insured vendors throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area. We work closely with these vendors to make sure any maintenance requests submitted by your tenants are handled in a timely and professional manner. Once the work has been completed, you will be able to see the invoice for the maintenance paid through your online owner’s portal. We will NEVER markup any day-to-day maintenance requests. You will pay what the vendor charged, and a copy of the invoice will be provided to you on your Owner Portal. (Large maintenance projects may have a coordination fee assessed.)

During the onboarding process, you will be asked to fill out a packet with basic information about the property and about yourself. Along with this packet, S.I.G. requests the below items so that we can complete the transition on our end:

• Property Management Agreement
• Copies of Leases and any corresponding documents (rental increases, change of terms, etc.)
• Existing Security deposits
• Current tenant contact information
• The amount required for the Reserve’s Account. (Varies based on property)
• All keys/access codes/remotes for the property
• A copy of your insurance dec pages showing $1,000,000 liability insurance on the property
• Confirmation that S.I.G. Property Management has been added as “Additionally Insured” to the $1,000,000 Liability Insurance policy
• - Form 590 Required by the California Franchise Tax Board establishing residency

A welcome letter is sent to all existing tenants introducing our company and the Property Supervisor for the property. The tenants will be encouraged to sign up for their free Tenant Portal in which they can pay their rent and submit maintenance 24 hours a day.

Our office will attempt to do an inspection of the interior of the units shortly after taking over the management to check for safety and health issues. 

Making sure you get your money is of the utmost importance to us. Generally, on or before the 20th of every month, we send out an ACH direct deposit to the bank account you designate. If the 20th is a weekend or holiday, then the payment may go out the next business day. We can send funds to multiple accounts if there are more than one owner. On the day your owner draw is sent out, you will also receive an email on the same day, which will indicate the amount of money which was sent to your account and for what property. At the conclusion of the month your monthly financial reports will be posted to your Online Owner’s Portal. Your financial report will break down the rental income generated by the property and the invoices for the bills and maintenance that S.I.G. paid on your behalf. The invoices paid will also be available on your portal.

Each applicant is put through a stringent screening process, which evaluates credit, income, criminal, and rental history to ensure that your property will be filled with reliable, responsible tenants who take care of the property and follow the terms of the rental agreement. Each person over 18 years of age is required to fill out an application.

In an effort to maintain our strong standards, S.I.G. carries more insurance than most other property management companies. S.I.G. carries the following insurances:

• Workman’s comp on its employees
• General Liability insurance
• Fidelity bond in case of theft
• Business Auto Insurance for our employees
• E&O Insurance for any sales transactions
• Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Yes! As an owner you should carry owner’s insurance to protect both the property as well as the owner from potential liability suits. Your liability limit should be $1M and will need to name SIG as an Additional Insured. Our office can obtain competitive insurance quotes for you if necessary.

While our office maintains many insurances, the owner’s insurance is the primary insurance in regard to the relationship between the Property Management Company and the property itself. This clause is standard in most property management agreements.

There is typically no additional cost associated with adding an additional insured to a commercial insurance policy. Also, it is important to note that this endorsement only applies to the liability portion of the policy. For instance, the management company would not be named as a payee if there was a fire.

When the owner names a Property Management company then the Owner’s insurance will also defend the Property Manager if there is a liability lawsuit relating to the property. The benefit of this is that the Owner’s policy bears the same expense to litigate on behalf of the owner and the management company. If the management company has to separately pay to defend themselves the owner would bear that responsibility as well. By adding the Property Management, the additional charges would not accrue. 

Yes! We will coordinate with an attorney the process of evicting a tenant. We work with multiple law offices who specialize in evictions. If you prefer your own attorney, we can also coordinate with them. S.I.G. will file the paperwork on your behalf and will help see the process through until the issue is resolved.

No! There are no set up fees. The only thing we require is an “Initial Deposit” which will be placed into your Reserve Account. These funds are used to pay any bills that may arise if your account is short of funds. These will be accounted for each month on your financial reports. 

Our office employees approximately 12 currently in our main office. In addition to this we have several full-time remote assistants who work remotely with our office.

Our office is affiliated with VFW Maintenance, Inc. which services most of the maintenance needs of our property management company. Owners may also give us their preferred vendor list who will be used on their properties. 

Generally, the answer is no. Our company has a set of guidelines that we use when renting to find the most qualified tenants. By sticking with this set of criteria we believe it will protect all parties from being accused of discrimination or fair housing claims. 

At S.I.G., we try to make sure you are getting all the return on your investment property, without having to deal with any of the headaches. For this reason, we will normally not reach out to you for approval of work unless the work is over $250.

It depends. For routine day to day maintenance we do not. The reason for this is because we have vendors that we have used for decades who give us preferential pricing due to the amount of work we give them. If there is a problem with the work or the bill, we can address it. For large jobs (generally defined as over $2000 in labor) we will contact you before any jobs are approved. Most large jobs will require more than one bid so that you can approve it. We strive to make sure you are getting the best price and the best value when it comes to maintenance requests. If you have your own preferred vendors, then we will use them if they are properly insured.