Very frequenly asked questions, answered.

If you don’t see what you’re looking for, we’re happy to talk.

Have questions about owning a rental property?

  • Yes-  As a licensed real estate brokerage, we are happy to represent you for any part of the purchasing process which includes the searching and analysis.  We are happy to drive by or walk through prospective purchases, and give our straightforward opinion on the many factors that might affect your investment including rental rates, repairs/updates needed or overall appeal.

  • We open a banking trust account for you and you will need to fund this account with what is commonly referred to as a reserve. This money is used to fund your account and may also be used to pay expenses on the property that are incurred before or after you receive the rental income each month.

    Reserve amounts vary, but you should expect this amount to be anywhere from a few hundred dollars, up to one full month’s rent.

  • One of the reasons you hire a property management company is so that YOU don’t have to be bothered with the day-to-day issues and problems that happen – including routine maintenance and repair items. Eventually, general wear and tear or the effective age of any property will require repairs or replacement of all components – large and small.  From a leaking gutters, broken handrails, running toilets etc, it will likely need attention.

    For the protection of your property and to comply with health and safety laws, your property management company MUST have strong maintenance protocols in place. These protocols should clearly define when repairs are tenant vs owner responsibility, what constitutes a maintenance emergency, when to repair vs replace, and when you (as the owner) should be involved.

    We handle all repair issues and don’t bother you for items under $500.

  • Although evictions should be rare or if a legal problem must be addressed, you’ll want to be sure that the property management company will handle ALL legal problems on your behalf including preparation and service of the many legal documents required to initial the eviction process in Michigan.

    If an eviction is necessary, we oversee the entire legal process from start to finish.

  • This is one of the most important parts of the management agreement because it shows the property management company’s willingness to give you flexibility in allowing you to leave if you are ever unhappy with their service. A property management company should not handcuff you or force you to work with them, nor should they charge you termination fees or penalties if you leave. Ideally, you want an agreement allowing you to potentially leave anytime you want – and without penalty.

    Our management agreement has NO termination fees or penalties. We simply require a 30 day notice of cancellation in order to do so.

  • Yes! We are able to market your specific rental property or portfolio of properties to our current client base AND a private list of investors that have reached out to us over the years that we have curated.  We can place it on the MLS and represent the property like other local brokerages would do as well.  With our specific focus on Kalamazoo income properties, we can represent your asset having the expertise that makes an income property unique from a standard listing.

Have questions about our property management services?

  • YES. Property management is considered a real estate activity under existing Michigan real estate licensing laws. Under the Michigan Public Act, anyone who engages in property management must have a real estate broker's license, unless they are a real estate salesperson employed by a real estate broker to engage in property management. Property management is defined as:

    The leasing or renting, or the offering to lease or rent, of real property of others for a fee, commission, compensation, or other valuable consideration pursuant to a property management employment contract.

    However, if the activities provided do not include leasing or renting services, a license is not required. Most property management companies meet these requirements, but many individual property managers do not. Be sure to ask your property manager if they are personally and individually licensed to practice property management in Michigan.  https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bpl/occ/prof/real-estate

    Michigan real estate broker licensing requirements include:

    • Trustworthiness: must provide evidence of good moral character

    • Experience: Minimum of three years full-time experience in real estate

    • Education: 90 clock hours of approved broker level education

    • Exam: pass the broker licensing examination

  • No – Lukeman Group manages only LONG TERM property management services.

  • No. We believe we should only be paid if you get paid. So our management fee is a percentage of the actual rent we collect. If we do not collect any rent, or if the property is vacant, you don’t pay us anything.

  • Contact us for pricing. A list of services with pricing is coming soon.

  • In depth tenant screening is the foundation of a good property management experience. Our in-house screening process utilizes technology plus ‘landlords references’ to ensure we place quality tenants in our properties. We comply with all federal and state laws governing applicant screening. 

  • Yes. Michigan state law includes ‘source of income’ as a protected status. This means landlords may not discriminate based on where tenants receive their income (including government subsidized programs).

  • We close out the monthly accounting cycle and do a direct deposit of your funds by the 15th day of each month.

  • We handle the entire rent collection process. Although it is rare - should a tenant not pay rent, we handle the entire legal eviction process on your behalf.

  • We will handle all repair requests (even the middle of the night emergencies) and we use pre-screened, high quality vendors.

  • While a property is vacant, you are welcome to do whatever make-ready work you would like to do on your property. When a tenant is living in the property, we do need to screen who is accessing the property for the protection of the tenant-residents. Therefore we will use our maintenance staff or pre-screened/pre-approved vendors. If you have a favorite vendor please give us their contact information – we are always looking to add new high quality vendors to our group!

  • Yes! We offer sales services exclusively to our owner-client group and we can help you buy another rental, or sell your current property when the time is right for you.

  • Our owner-clients have a secure on-line portal which gives 24/7 access to financial reporting. 

Have questions about renting from Lukeman Group?

  • For life threatening emergencies dial 911.

    If you have a major water leak, furnace failure or electrical outage, contact the Emergency Maintenance phone number: 269.568.6010. Situations will be dealt with on a case by case basis, as soon as possible.

    Call the police or fire dept. if you feel there is substantial need to do so.

  • 1) All non emergency repair requests may be made through your resident portal, which you may access here.

    2) If you are unable to make your repair request online you may call our office maintenance phone line at 269-254-8561 X17

    3) IF YOU HAVE AN AFTER HOURS EMERGENCY, YOU MAY CALL THE EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE PHONE LINE AT:  269-568-6010

    Per the terms of your residential lease agreement you are responsible, at your own expense, for certain repair items. If you submit a repair request for one of the below listed items you may be back billed for the cost of the repair.  Please try to remediate the issue on your own before contacting maintenance for the following items:

    Toilet Backups

    Slow draining sink or tub

    Reset electrical breaker

    Smoke/CO2 detector battery replacement

    Furnace filter replacement (specific to unit)

    Please be aware you are giving access to our vendors or our staff to access your unit when making maintenance requests.  We will make reasonable accommodations for notice, to make arrangements for entry or make an appointment. 

  • We provide an Inventory Checklist at move in to detail the condition of the rental unit.  The State of MI requires it be returned within 7 days of receiving possession to our office. 

  • We accept rent via ACH from your online portal ($2.49 transaction fee) – CLICK HERE

    Personal Check, Money Order or Cashier’s Check – Dropped off (THERE IS A 24 HR DROPBOX) or mailed to our office at 1418 S Burdick St Kalamazoo MI 49001- Be sure to include the address on the check or if paying on someone else’s behalf, the tenant/leaseholder you are paying for.

    Credit Card- (2.99% transaction fee)

    Debit Card- ($9.99 transaction fee)

  • Here is a list of the companies that service the area as well as other resource contact info.

  • In most cases, we allow pets.  You MUST COMPLETE A PET RIDER and agree to the terms of your lease in doing so.  There are additional fees for pets.

  • We highly recommend RENTERS INSURANCE.  The landlord is not responsible for any damage or loss to personal property in the unit.  Renters insurance can be purchased through our office or the open market and protects against fire, flooding, theft and many other unforeseen circumstances that the homeowners insurance wont cover. 

  • Please DO NOT paint or change color of any interior room without the written consent of the LANDLORD. Tenants will be responsible for the costs to repaint the walls and/or rooms.

  • Use of a window A/C unit is allowed under the provision that if the LANDORD provides electric for the building, a fee of $30.00 per month must be included to the rental amount for each A/C unit. This helps defer the cost of electricity used ($1.00 per day avg.) This is strictly enforced and may cause a termination of tenancy if not observed. Please see your lease for details.

  • We return deposits within 30 days of your last day of tenancy. Please leave a written forwarding address for us so that we can send it to you – this must be provided within 4 days of moving out. Please be sure to have the home/apt clean and free of ANY furniture or personal property. This includes garbage, clothing, kitchen supplies, boxes etc. We perform a move-out evaluation and send the security deposit back with a notice of damages as long as we have a forwarding address.

Considering purchasing a home or property? Contact us for a consultative overview of our services.