FAQ

Hedgerow Property Management is a professional, full-service property management company that has served the Napa Valley since 1997. Providing excellent property management services is our sole focus, so we are not distracted by other activities. We are all locals and understand the area and the market. We hire qualified, licensed, and insured vendors. Our friendly staff works together as a team, so anyone in our office can assist property owners or their renters. We care, and we take care of whatever comes our way in the day-to-day management of the properties we oversee.

Hedgerow Property Management can pay bills associated with your property, including maintenance bills, utilities, property taxes, insurance, and mortgages. After we receive rents from the tenants, we pay your mortgage and utility bills before we pay the other bills. The net balance in the account after paying bills and management fees is distributed to the property owner via direct deposit.

Yes, Hedgerow Property Management will perform an initial property inspection to assess the condition of the property and prepare a new lease between Hedgerow and the tenant, mirroring the terms of the existing lease.

Hedgerow Property Management performs annual safety inspections of each unit to ensure detectors are functioning properly, locks are present and operable, and no visible leaks are present. 

Our annual safety inspections are not home inspections, and our staff are not home inspection experts. We recommend home inspections periodically, at least every three years.

We continuously monitor the market to determine the recommended rental rate at the time of listing. There is a risk of overpricing your property. Some companies recommend higher than market rates to secure a listing.  We understand that every property owner wants to get the best return on their investment while providing a good value for residents. Overpricing often leads to an unhappy owner due to extended vacancies and high turnover rates. If an owner believes their property is unique or better than competing vacancies, they may request pricing higher than our recommended rate to test the market and see if the property draws interest. If the property receives very little interest quickly, we recommend reducing the rent because a vacant property is an expensive liability. 

We recommend pricing your property competitively to rent it out quickly, not to make our jobs easier, as may be believed, but to earn you money. For example, if market rent is $2,500 and we test the market by listing at $2,700 (just $200 extra), the property may be vacant for an extra month or even longer.

Hedgerow Property Management holds the tenants' security deposits in a trust account until the tenant moves out, and the deposit is either refunded to the tenant or applied to rent, cleaning, or repairs for which the tenant is responsible.

The security deposit can be transferred to the property owner to hold, in which case the tenant will be advised that the property owner holds the security deposit. The owner will be responsible for returning the security deposit to us for disposition when the tenant vacates the property.

Reserves are required for each property. This reserve amount is determined uniquely for the property and placed in a trust account. It is used to cover any charges or unexpected maintenance bills that may arise when there is no rent or not enough rent to cover those charges. The minimum reserve is $1,000.00 per property.

We have different managers in different divisions who currently manage:

Commercial Properties (office use, etc.)

Apartment Complexes (all sizes; with and without on-site managers)

Residential Income Properties (single-family homes, duplexes, fourplexes, condos)

In addition to determining the appropriate market rate for the property, we ensure the property is in good and desirable condition. The first impression is extremely important to prospective renters. It is imperative to offer the property fully clean and with everything operable. Walls should be freshly painted if needed, carpets clean and free of odors, stains, wrinkles, or tears. Appliances should be clean and in good working order. Window coverings must be clean and operable. Front and back yards should be landscaped and well-maintained.

Staff will recommend updates and/or upgrades as appropriate to add the most value to your asset, command the highest market rate appropriate for the home, and attract a good-quality renter.

Tenants must submit their maintenance requests in writing through email, their tenant portal, or by coming into our office to handwrite the request. We determine which of our approved, licensed, and insured vendors should respond and send them a work order to inspect and assess the problem. If the repair can be made up to the established maintenance level on the home, the repair is made immediately. If the repair exceeds the stated maintenance level, we attempt to obtain owner approval to proceed. If we are unable to obtain approval from the owner timely and the maintenance is required immediately, we will advise the vendors to proceed (for example, replacement of a water heater). The work order becomes part of the permanent record on the property. 

We may be able to assist some tenants by walking them through a procedure over the phone to avoid the need to send a vendor. For example, we can guide tenants through resetting garbage disposals, tripped breakers, or GFCIs. 

We have a dedicated 24-hour maintenance phone line to handle emergency calls from tenants outside of business hours. We determine whether the issue qualifies as an emergency and requires immediate attention or if it can wait until the next business day for resolution.

We require a detailed written application from each occupant 18 years and older. We process the application by obtaining a credit history through a credit report and conducting rental and employment/income verification. To qualify, all applicants 18 years and older must have a gross monthly income of at least three times the rent amount, have no derogatory credit, maintain an acceptable overall debt-to-income ratio including debt service on the credit report, and provide favorable housing provider references.

We have different managers in different divisions who currently manage:

Commercial Properties (office use, etc.)

Apartment Complexes (all sizes; with and without on-site managers)

Residential Income Properties (single-family homes, duplexes, fourplexes, condos)