Let Bay Area Real Estate & Rentals Manage Your Rental Properties!

By Celeste McLaughlin

Bay Area Real Estate & Rentals Estate & Rentals has stood at the corner of Fletcher and N. 56th St. (just south of New Tampa) since John Simone, the company’s Broker-owner, opened the office in 1997. In that time, John’s full-service property management and real estate office has handled the acquisition, management, and disposition of hundreds of properties for real estate investors and “accidental landlords.”

John says that some homeowners become “accidental landlords” when they can’t sell their homes because of market conditions or other factors, so they turn to renting as an alternative.

“For example, there are homeowners who bought in 2006 (at the height of the local real estate explosion; before the real estate “bubble” hit our area hard in 2007-08) and still haven’t caught up yet,” says John. “When they need to move, we help them determine if renting is a good option, and then we handle all aspects of the rental process.”

John has held a Florida real estate Realtor’s license since 1988 and has had his Broker’s license since 1990. He has been a member of the Greater Tampa Board of Realtors (GTAR) for more than 25 years. He also is a member of the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) and National Association of Realtors (NAR). His office also maintains membership in the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) and the Florida Association of Residential Property Managers (FARPM).

Your Rental Specialist!

John says he recognized early on that he would focus on rentals. 

“I chose that as my niche because not many people were doing it, and I enjoyed it,” he says. And, I’ve maintained that all these years. It’s a different business. Some agencies don’t stress investment properties and property management, but we do.”

Although rentals are still Bay Area’s primary focus, John says he is licensed and capable of handling the sale of a home, too.

“Typically when we handle sales for our clients, it involves investment properties,” says John. “But we work with our entire client base on any service that clients want.” So, for example, if someone needs to rent out their home because they can’t or don’t want to sell, and they also want to buy a new home, Bay Area Real Estate & Rentals will handle both of those transactions.

John and the agents who work for him can help homeowners determine what your home is worth, and examine the financial impacts of selling versus renting, including what you can expect to receive as far as rental rates and income on your home.

If you decide to keep your home as an asset, instead of selling it, Bay Area Real Estate & Rentals helps with everything. John says the process goes something like this:

“We go through the home and recommend repairs, and we will schedule those for you if you want,” explains John. “Then we market the home and show it to potential renters. We screen all tenants thoroughly, and prepare and execute the lease on the owner’s behalf. Then we collect rent, and on the 10th of each month, you get a check and a statement from us.”

He notes that Bay Area’s rental clients always seem to go through a similar type of transition, once they get used to renting out their homes.

“People come to us to discuss ‘my home,’ but then – over time – they start referring to it as ‘the property’ because they begin to see it as the (financial) asset that it is.”

Superior Customer Service!

Bay Area Real Estate & Rentals has a small staff, including John, an office manager, and three other Realtors who work together on all the company’s properties to ensure that all of the needs are met for every Bay Area client.

“We all work together on all of the properties,” says John, “so anyone in the office can handle any task that is needed for any of our clients.”

Because of the software used in the office, the entire staff has access to all needed information on all properties. “We are extremely automated when it comes to software,” says John. “For example, 99 percent of our rents are paid online. Our software is a powerful tool that serves our clients well.”

But, even with an outstanding software program that allows for a lot of automation, John says there are still some things that are not turned over to a machine.

“We still answer our phones 24 hours a day,” says John. “When our office is closed, we have a live answering service that handles the calls and gets us our messages right away.”

This is important in his business, John says. “Whether it’s an owner calling, or a tenant, or even a neighbor, we always answer the phone.”

Many of the company’s clients are full-service management clients, but some hire Bay Area Real Estate & Rentals just for placement, which means the company’s only role is to find and screen a tenant for your property, then help you sign the lease.

Bay Area Real Estate & Rentals handles properties throughout the Tampa Bay area, including New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills, Town ‘n’ Country, Valrico, and even Sun City Center.

Doug Gwynn, Ph.D., is a retired professor who taught at the University of California. When he moved to New Tampa more than a dozen years ago, he was looking for a home near the University of South Florida, when he came across John’s office. He says John helped him find the “perfect place” — a home in the Lake Forest subdivision at the south end of New Tampa — before Doug turned his attention to investment properties.

“I am quite familiar with property management,” says Doug, who says he has had investment properties in both California and other parts of Florida before he began looking for investment properties here.

“John is a high-quality person, and I really like his approach,” says Doug. “He gives me complete, reliable information, and as my agent, he puts my needs ahead of his own.”

Doug says he now owns six investment properties in New Tampa, in Live Oak Preserve and Grand Hampton, as well as in Wesley Chapel. He says he’s hoping to increase that to eight, with John’s help.

“I wouldn’t invest in the area if I didn’t have John,” says Doug. “I have learned over the years to trust him. He’s flexible and he’s never dishonest. I have met some property managers who are unsavory — coming up with nonexistent bills and such things  — but I know I can trust John.”

And, in terms of finding renters,” Doug adds, “John tends to choose exclusive renters, carefully screening them to be sure they have good credit and no criminal record, and then he interviews them, too. And, since I own very nice properties in nice neighborhoods, my renters tend to stay a long time, often five or six years.”

And John thinks Doug has the right idea by investing in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel areas.

“New Tampa is like its own little world,” says John, “It grew into Wesley Chapel, and Wesley Chapel still has a lot of opportunity to grow. People are putting a lot of money into residential and commercial development projects in Wesley Chapel, and that’s a good sign for the area.” 

He cites the new ice skating rink being built in Wesley Chapel, now named Florida Hospital Center Ice, plus the new Tampa Premium Outlets mall and the ongoing development of Wiregrass Ranch as examples of large-scale projects that are making Wesley Chapel a hotbed of real estate activity.

In his free time, John is an avid boater. He says he volunteers more than 1,300 hours a year with the Coast Guard as a uniformed service member. This includes a search-and-rescue shift every Saturday, plus training, and his role as a liaison between civilian volunteers and active duty members.

Bay Area Real Estate & Rentals is located at 13312 N. 56th St. It is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and phones are answered by a live answering service whenever the office is closed. For more info, call 988-7368, visit BayAreaRealEstate andRentals.com or see the ad on page 22 of this issue.