Property types
Duplex, Triplex and Fourplex Management
Small buildings are the most commonly self-managed properties on the Peninsula, and the ones where informal arrangements cause the most trouble.
Small does not mean simple
A fourplex has most of an apartment building's complexity at a quarter of the scale: shared plumbing and electrical, a common roof, sometimes a single water or gas meter, a shared laundry, and four tenancies whose regulatory positions may differ from one another.
What small buildings usually lack is systems. Rent gets collected inconsistently, notices are informal, repairs happen by text message, and there is no documentation when something is disputed. That is where owners get hurt.
Owner-occupied buildings
Living in your own building changes things practically and legally. Some exemptions turn on owner occupancy; some obligations do too. And the daily reality of being both neighbor and landlord is why many owner-occupants bring in a manager — it puts a professional between the relationship and the rent.
Shared utilities
Single-metered buildings need a defensible allocation method and clear lease language. California has specific requirements around utility billing disclosure, and getting it wrong invites a dispute you will lose.
What owners here worry about
The issues specific to this property type
Informal arrangements
Verbal agreements and inherited handshake terms documented properly, without blowing up a working tenancy.
Mixed regulatory positions
Each unit's position confirmed — they are not always the same within one building.
Shared systems
One roof, one boiler, one sewer lateral: tracked and planned for as building expenses.
Owner-occupancy questions
Where owner occupancy affects exemptions or obligations, identified before it matters.
Utility allocation
A defensible method and lease language for single-metered buildings.
Services
How we manage small residential buildings
Leasing, rent, maintenance, reporting and compliance under one roof.
Leasing & Tenant PlacementFill the vacancy quickly with a resident who holds up over years.
Rental Property MarketingPhotography, listings and syndication that reach qualified renters.
Tenant ScreeningConsistent, documented, legally compliant applicant review.
Rent Collection & AccountingRent in on time, and statements your accountant can use as-is.
Maintenance CoordinationRequests triaged fast, licensed vendors, spending you control.
Questions
About small residential buildings
Is a duplex worth professional management?
It depends on your time and your risk tolerance. Two units generate real regulatory exposure and real liability, and the cost of one improperly handled notice can exceed a year of management fees. Many duplex owners engage us after a single bad experience.
I live in one of the units. Can you still manage it?
Yes, and owner-occupied buildings are a meaningful share of what we manage. Having a manager between you and your neighbors tends to make the arrangement work better, not worse.
My tenants have been there for years without a written lease. What now?
That is common and it is fixable, but it needs care — how you document an existing tenancy can affect its terms. We assess the situation first and tell you what can and cannot be changed. Where the answer has legal consequences, we say so and involve your attorney.
Free Rental Analysis
Find out what your property should rent for
A rental analysis gives you a supported rent range for your specific property, the comparable leases behind it, and a straight assessment of what would move that number. No obligation, and no pressure to sign anything.
Other property types
Schedule a Consultation
Let’s talk about your property
A short conversation is usually enough to tell whether we’re the right fit. We’ll ask about the property, what’s working and what isn’t, and tell you honestly what we would do differently.