How to Successfully
Rent and Manage an Investment Rental Home
Property Management is tougher than ever, Especially Since 2020. Whether renting Your Own Home or Selecting the Best Property Management Company, the Stakes Have Never Been Higher, and an Amazing Manager is Worth Their Weight in Gold.
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Steps to Successful Property Management
The year 2020 was a game-changer for rental property management. For both private DIY landlords or decade-old property management companies with stellar reviews, managing a rental home and renters requires more expensive technology, time, patience, and hard work than it ever has before by a long shot.
Family
Owned. Founded in Wilmington North Carolina, since 2006
1000+
5 Star Reviews Across 7 Diverse Locations. A Testament To Consistency
94%
Of Our Owners Own Less Than 2 Properties. Most Are Mom & Pop Accidental Landlords
Goldilocks
Large Enough to Deliver Leading-Edge PropTech, Small Enough to Deliver the Best Customer Service
Effort
Vacancy Calculation Is a Questionable Statistic in Most Management Company Advertising, but the Best Measure of Our Commitment to Fast Leasing Is the Consistent Effort Displayed in Every Listing We Present.
INC 5000
MoveZen is a Proud Recipent of the 2024 INC 5000 List of the Nations Top Companies, by INC Magazine
Since 2020
We’ve Sent 80 Cents of Every Dollar Collected to Our Owners, Proving the Benefits of a Resident Satisfaction Model
Win-Win
We’ve Donated Over $40k (Typically During Matching Pledges) to Mostly Local Charities, on Your Behalf
Since 2020
We’ve Evicted Barely Over 1% of Our Residents. In Light of So Much Negative Press Around That Time, This Is One of Our Proudest Achievements.
Shooting Straight on Investor and Property Management Profitability
This business was hard when we started almost 20 years ago and had to help owners navigate the pain and devastation many were dealing with in 2008, and it is somehow much harder now in a post-2020 landscape that we call the “modern rental market.” Management charges rarely make up more than 12% of your total income, but poor performance when it comes to listing presentation, fast follow-up, reducing resident turnover, repair expenses, preserving home value, and proper pricing almost guarantees that your investment will be a stressful and unprofitable endeavor. The stakes are high, and results are not easy. Rents in our area have been falling for over a year, and many are not even aware.
The Stakes are Higher, and Great Results are Harder than Ever Before in Rental Management
This is not the time to take advantage of the gig economy or hire a cheap manager. That’s similar to skimping on an attorney if you are innocent and face serious criminal charges, or very sick and need the best medicine. If a company is pushing their cheap price they are not focused on overall performance because they have to cut corners.
Anyone Can Manage a Rental, But Few Can Get Industry-Leading Results, and That Matters
With the upheaval in the real estate industry, newcomers are picking up property management and tend to offer great prices and promises while doing a couple of things well, but this is a surprisingly complex and challenging business these days that requires costly high-tech tools as well as deeply researched and tested strategies combined with care and focus.

Get a MoveZen Rent Rate Evaluation
One of the Most Important Steps to Renting Your Home is Setting the Rental Rate
The MoveZen rental evaluation is compiled by “people” using real-world comparable past and active rental listing data. This is not just a report from the same algorithm every company uses, it’s the professional opinion of multiple experienced property managers.
We Guarantee Our Work and Transparency
No Hidden Fees Guarantee
If it’s not on your management agreement or directly approved, non-maintenance charges will not show up on your statement
Satisfaction Guarantee
We allow you to cancel the relationship for just 50% of remaining management charges (set by lease term)
Vacant Cancel Guarantee
If you sign up and decide renting isn’t working out before the home is leased, you can cancel for just $350 (or $450 if 3D scanned)
Tenant Placement Guarantee
If your resident doesn’t finish their lease term we refund prorated charges for lost time
Maintenance Limit Guarantee
Maintenance is complex, especially in emergencies but we use limits, personalize policy, & almost never bill without approval
Eviction Guarantee
We will handle evictions for residents that we placed for no charge, or contribute $1,000 toward an attorney should that be necessary
Prorate Guarantee
We prorate charges fairly, based on income, including partial payments so that you get paid first
Low Renter Charge Guarantee
We don’t gouge renters at the expense of making your home less desirable. We have some of the lowest renter charges
No Markups & Junk Guarantee
We don’t markup any 3rd party charges. We don’t have offboard fees after your term is up or other brazen tolls
30-Day Lease Guarantee
If we haven’t secured a lease within our quoted rent range within 30 days, your first month’s management is free
All the Things We Don’t Charge For
No charge for photos and 3D scans and we frequently reshoot due to weather etc. Spend a year with us and the photos are included for free. Especially since 2020 quality of presentation has a major effect on rental rate, speed of leasing, and above all resident quality
We utilize state of the art lockboxes & scheduling that renters absolutely love, and respond to (see more)
We do offer renovation management services, as well as complete some duties in house if you approve an estimate in advance, but we never upcharge on standard repairs & maintenance
We never charge for up to two annual inspections, and frequently inspect more often at our discretion with no added charges (see more)
We provide 1099’s and monthly statements for no charge
We’ve never required an owner to pay additional marketing charges

What We Do Charge For
Prior to 2020, we had almost no additional charges besides our standard management costs. Since then the cost of hiring committed and caring staff has literally doubled. Rather than raising basic costs we finally implemented fair, industry-standard charges for a large amount of services we had been absorbing free for years. We are a bit on the high side for lease renewals and that’s because we are aligning your incentives with ours. Keeping high-quality residents in place long-term isn’t easy or cheap, but it is a huge win-win. We invest heavily in that process, so we charge a bit more than average.
Amazing Partners & Affiliates
Important Steps to Rent Your Home Out from A to Z
Step by step checklist for getting a home rented, and link to the full property management guide
1 Consider strengths and weaknesses for your home and location and consider special strategies to utilize them. Is it a college area? If so, you’ll likely handle a lot differently from low income, or a suburb

2 Get the property in show-ready condition by handling repairs, but also low-cost aesthetic fixes like spray painting rusted AC grates, and other things that really stand out. A sure way to attract sub-par tenants and repel the rest is to show a home with unrepaired issues
3 Decide whether you’re going to allow pets or not. Before you decide, know that for most landlords it’s the single best thing you can do to increase your “bottom line” profit over the long term. More on this subject here

4 Set a rental rate that will balance a minor amount of time on market hassle, with monthly rate. Whether in the form of owner-occupied showings, stress, or vacancy. Most owners fail to properly account for these subtle but real costs, especially vacancy. Vacant homes are much more costly than most account for. We can provide a free rental rate estimate compiled by people, not an algorithm, here
Rental Rate Leads Investors Astray
If your home sits empty for 4 months, a common occurrence since the market slowed, you instantly lose 32% of your top-line revenue. Many investors make this decision without considering what their “net income,” or cash in hand will be at the end of 12 months. Pricing is an art, not a science. Focusing on the cash you will have in hand 12 months from now requires us to consider the full equation which includes the quality of the applicant (high-quality renters have great finances because they are value-seekers who are smart with their money), the amount of time that the home isn’t producing income, and finally last on our list of priorities is the actual rental rate. Especially since renters move more than ever, professionals understand that holding out for high rates doesn’t pay off over the long term.
Even at a discount an occupied home in 2025 produces a lot of income. While vacant, or if we select a low-quality resident (typically the ones willing to pay a premium rate), the costs quickly pile up and turn a decent investment into a high-stress money pit. A lot of rental owners lose dramatically more to vacancy than they could possibly lose to rising inflation, taxes, or insurance. Keep income flowing all year and costs are almost always manageable.
The modern rental market is highly profitable if handled properly, and fraught with massive risk if not. Let’s be conservative and profit through smart management. (Read about this real-world example comparing the two approaches)

21 Tips for Great Rental Listing Photographs

Free Self Property Management Software for Applications, Payments

Self-Managed Landlord Presentation, Marketing & Showing Service
Read What Customers Just Like You Are Saying About the MoveZen Experience
View MoveZen’s hundreds of ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ Google reviews across 7 major locations
Our Staff is Proud to Make Shared Sacrifices for Charitable Company Initiatives
Mostly Local, & Typically Matched
Over the past 5 years, MoveZen has donated tens of thousands of dollars to charity. While we often give to the Red Cross during major disasters, most of our donations are to local, smaller charities in the cities and towns where we operate. Most of our donations are also timed to take advantage of matching pledges by various Fortune 500 companies and other major organizations.
3 Exceptional Management Options. From DIY to Set it & Forget It
Full Property Management Service Is About The Same As A Cup Of Starbucks A Day. To View This As A Single Side By Side Image Switch To Desktop View On Your Mobile Phone
- Pre-listing Rental Rate AnalysisPre-Marketing Property ReportBasic Turnover & Improvements AssistanceProfessional PhotographsHigh-Tech Matterport 3D ScanExceptional Marketing Across All Major Rental SitesOversee Showings & Renter LeadsCriminal, Credit & More Application ProcessingNegotiate Terms & Secure Signed LeaseHandle the Move-In ExperienceMonthly ACH Payments & Financial ReportingCollect Rent & Address Payment IssuesMove Tenant Out, Handle Deposit ProcessOversee All Maintenance Needs
- MARKETING ONLYWe List, Scan, Photo, & Setup on Our Showing Scheduler. You Do the Rest✔✔✔✔✔✔XXXXXXXX
- PLACEMENT ONLYWe Market & Lease the Home, You Manage Your Way from There DIY✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔XXXXPOPULAR
- FULL SERVICEWe Do It All from A to Z, Then Start Over When Needed✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔
Ready to Get Your Rental on the MoveZen System?
Our ultimate goal is to maximize your bottom line income while minimizing headaches. This starts with our new owner onboard process
Thinking of Switching Property Management Companies?
Don’t let the unpleasant task of working with your current manager to close out your account hold you back, we’ll do it all. Just notify them once in writing, and we’ll do the rest