The charges listed below would be incurred by the tenant for common actions that would go above and beyond the normal lease agreement, the normal activities for a tenant, or any other actions outside of routine operations. These charges have been put in place to offset the cost and time involved needed to address each issue listed below on behalf of the tenant and are charged on a case by case basis.

• Walk Thru Fee: $75 Weekend Walk Thru Fee: $125

  This fee would be charged if the tenant requests an in-person walk thru either to move into the home, or when moving out of the home. Through normal procedures, an escorted walk thru of a property with the tenant and a representative of Empire Property Management is above and beyond the regular practice of a vacant home walk thru. This fee is charged because the tenant often still has access to the home via keys, and often has possessions still in the home requiring us to do an additional walk thru once the locks have been changed and the tenant has completely vacated.

• Renewal Lease Preparation Fee: $50

  This fee would be charged once a tenant signs a lease renewal with Empire Properties. It is meant to cover the administrative efforts and walk thrus involved in completing a lease agreement extension.

• In Person Lease Signing Fee: $75

  This fee is charged to offset the cost of our staff member’s time if a tenant is requiring a sit down with our leasing department in order to go through the lease line by line to ask questions regarding the content of the lease. Disclosure: We are not attorneys, so any questions concerning the lease forwarded to Empire Property Management may be considered legal questions which they are not allowed or obligated to answer. We recommend if there are concerns over the lease signing process that a tenant consult with their attorney prior to signing.

• Lease Processing Fee For Lease Modifications: $50

  This fee would be charged if a tenant wants an administrative action taken that will cause their lease agreement to be modified. If a tenant wants to remove an occupant from a lease agreement, add and occupant to a lease agreement, add a pet to a lease agreement or anything that will cause the lease to be modified, a one-time processing fee of $50 charged to the tenant ledger.

• Early Deposit Check Fee: $75

  This fee would be charged if the tenant is requesting a deposit check immediately after a walk thru is conducted. The South Carolina Lease allows the deposit to be returned within 30 days of lease completion and the deposit is often refunded through the course of normal business after a thorough walk thru has been completed. To go outside of those normal procedures causes extra time involved.

• Utility Cross Over Fee: $75

  This fee would be charged if the tenant fails to cross over utilities in a timely manner. Not only would the tenant be responsible for utilities from the day the lease started, but they would also be charged this fee if additional efforts have to be made to ensure they properly turned over utilities.

• Early Move-In Fee: $50

  This fee would be charged if a tenant requests an earlier move in date than what the original lease was written and signed for. To make this change requires additional paperwork and coordination.

• Holdover Fee: Three (3) Times Monthly Rent

  This fee would be charged if the tenant has remained in the home after the proper 30 day notice to vacate was delivered in accordance with the lease agreement. Per the lease, a charge of three times the monthly rent will be applied.

• Notice to Vacate Posting: $150 Weekend Notice to Vacate: $200

  This fee would be charged if the tenant is late in paying rent. A notice to vacate will be posted on the front door and the charge will be assessed to the tenant. This fee goes up $50 each successive time Empire Property Management has to post notice to vacate at the home due to lack of rental payments made.

• Utilities Set Up Fee: $75

  This fee would be charged if Empire Property Management is asked to set up any utilities on behalf of the tenant. We are happy to assist with assisting with arranging for utilities, we just have to charge for the effort as often times we would have to send someone to the property to ensure the water was turned on correctly, which may incur additional charges along with the effort to establish utilities for the tenant.

• Cleaning Fee: $550 (Maids and Carpets Cleaned)

  This program has been set up to offer tenants the option of paying Empire Property Management to have their home cleaned upon move out. This often saves the tenant time and in a lot of cases money because we are passing along our discount to the tenant. We have seen tenants spend in excess of $700 to $800 in maid service and professional carpet cleaning by contacting unknown vendors. If Empire Property Management is allowed to clean the home on the tenant’s behalf, it will eliminate any further liability the tenant may occur for cleaning that was not done correctly. Example: A tenant pays a maid service $250 to clean the home and they forget to wipe down the tops of the refrigerator, ceiling fans, or blinds. In order to make the home ready for the next tenant, we would have to send another cleaning crew into the home and charge the tenant. At that point, the tenant has paid two times to clean the same home. We recommend to all tenants that they allow us to clean the home on their behalf at the end of a lease.

• Rush Move In Fee: $100

  This fee would be charged to a tenant if the tenant is in a severe rush to move into a home. Example: The tenant applies on a Thursday afternoon, and wants to move in on Friday. If the tenant receives an application approval, in order to facilitate such a quick move in – we have to drop everything to accommodate for such a quick turnaround. In this case, the tenant will be charged an extra $100 to facilitate this action.

• Later Move In Date Change Fee: $50

  This fee would be charged to a tenant if a move in date needs to be modified for a later move in. If the terms to the later move in are acceptable to the owner, a later move in can be arranged. This would incur a fee because of the lease agreement having to be modified, and utilities needing to be kept on the property longer. A later move in will be addressed on a case by case basis.

• Stand Up Fee: $85

  This fee would be charged to a tenant if an appointment was made to meet the tenant at a property, or the office, and that tenant is unable to show up. This will be charged on a case by case basis.

• Late Fees for Rent: 10% of monthly rent due on the 5th of each month

  This fee is in the standard lease agreement. On the 5th day of each month, if no rent is paid to that point, a 10% late fee of one month’s rent will be assessed. Each day after that, a $3 a day fee will be added. Late fees will be charged first, and rent will be credited after the late fees have been paid in accordance with the lease agreement.

• Returned Payment - NSF Fee: $60

  This fee will be charged to the tenant in the event of a returned electronic payment, a returned personal check, or any type of failed payment submission that was due to tenant error.

• Roommate Change Out Fee: $75

  This fee will be charged if an approved tenant is leaving the lease agreement, and another approved tenant is remaining behind in the home. There is a charge for this to modify the lease agreement, and have the proper forms signed. An example would be in a non-married couple decides to rent a home in both of their names and then one wants off the lease and out of the property. To modify the lease, and to cover the administrative time involved – a fee will be charged.

• HOA Admin Fee: $50

  This fee will be charged anytime the homeowner or the property manager receives a letter for negative reasons from the Home Owner’s Association. The most common examples are the lawn needing to be mowed and edged (tenant responsibility), the garbage cans to be placed out of sight on non-garbage pick-up days, basketball goals left on the curb, and un-authorized boats or trailers parked in the driveway or on the street. If any letter or notice is received from the HOA because of tenant actions, we must pass along that information to the tenant, add that into the tenant file, respond to the owner, and follow up with the HOA. There will be a $50 charge added to the tenant ledger.

• Rekey lockout fee: $150

  This fee will be charged if the tenant locks themselves out of the home and has requested assistance from Empire Property Management. Additional charges may be incurred depending on if the doors have to be drilled into, or they can be merely picked. A re-key charge may also be assessed if the keys were lost. Empire Property Management often maintains a copy of a key in the office lockbox, but that can often only be retrieved during normal business hours. The tenant may call their own locksmith to access the home, but if keys are changed – copies must be provided per the lease agreement.

• Certified Letter Fee: $25

  This fee will be charged if for any reason the tenant is sent a certified letter for negative reasons. This can be applied for a pending eviction, and un-authorized pet, or a non-responsive tenant to email and phone calls.

• After Hours Maintenance Fee: $75

  This fee will be charged to a tenant in the event that an after-hours maintenance call is required for a routine service call. We understand that tenants have careers and can only be home at certain times after work or on the weekends – the same applies to our staff. It is the policy of Empire Property Management to not perform any work on a property on behalf of the tenant without the tenant being home to allow for access to the home. We feel this will avoid any issues of missing items in the home, or any uneasy feelings of key security. We do not operate like an apartment complex where our maintenance staff will access your home at any time day or night. This fee will be assessed on a case by case basis and does not apply for emergency service calls such as HVAC or water leaks.

• Collection Administrative Fee: Higher of $300 or 20% of Total Balance

  This fee will be charged to a tenant in the event we have to initiate a collection to recoup any funds owed to Empire Property Management. This will include late fees, NSF Fees, or any other past due items.

• Stop Payment Fee: $50

  This fee will be charged if a tenant does not receive a check from Empire Property Management for any reason that is the fault of the tenant. An example where this would apply is if we were provided the wrong forwarding address and the check is lost in the mail. We will have to stop payment on that check, and then re-issue another check. We are charged by our bank for any stop payment on a check and that cost would be passed along to the outgoing tenant.

• Re-Issue Check Fee: $25

  This fee would be charged if we have to re-issue a lost check to a tenant for any reason determined to be the fault of the tenant. It will usually coincide with the stop payment fee.

• Administration Fee for Cleaning or Repairs: $200

  This fee would be charged if Larsen Properties has to make additional arrangements to provide maid service, lawn service, carpet cleaning, or repairs to any damages done to the home that calls for repair because of tenant negligence. Receipts are kept for costs involved, and can be provided to tenant. This fee is meant to cover the administrative cost in organizing this work on the tenant’s behalf.

• Annual Pet Inspection: Varies

  This fee is applied to all tenants who have an approved pet and pet agreement in their lease agreement. Any pet damage noted during the Pet Inspection must be corrected within 14 days. A member of the Empire Property Management staff will conduct a re-inspection to ensure damages have been corrected. If the annotated damages have not been corrected, Empire Property Management will dispatch a contractor to fix the damages at tenant cost.

• Delinquency Carrying Fee: 5% of Balance Due

  This fee is applied to a tenant’s delinquent balance 30 days after a tenant has received proper notice via email that there is a balance due, what the amount is, and when that payment is due.