Richmond Landlord & Rental Property Blog

Storm Readiness for Richmond Rentals: Preventing Water Intrusion, Drainage Failures, and Power-Relat...

Storms put rental properties under stress quickly. In Richmond Metro, heavy rain, wind, falling limbs, and power outages can expose drainage, roofing, moisture, and system weaknesses that were manageable under normal conditions. The most useful preparation starts with two questio...

Why Does PMI James River Require Contractors to Add Us as an Additional Insured?

PMI James River works with contractors at the rental properties we manage, and we require contractors to name PMI James River as an Additional Insured on their General Liability insurance. This requirement is part of our broader vendor compliance process, along with verifying app...

Self-Managing Landlords in Richmond, VA: What It Takes to Do It Well

Self-managing a Richmond rental can work well. The standard is not whether an owner can personally solve every problem. It is whether pricing, leasing, screening, rent collection, maintenance, records, renewals, and compliance follow repeatable processes when normal rental issues...

A Richmond Renter's Guide to Living Well in RVA

Richmond is a city you live in, not just one you pay rent in. The James River runs straight through the city, different neighborhoods and nearby communities offer very different day-to-day routines, and the calendar gives you plenty of reasons to get out of the house.Renting give...

Umbrella Insurance for Multiple Rental Properties

Umbrella insurance can be a useful additional layer of liability protection for a rental owner with more than one property. But the common shortcut that a personal umbrella works until a portfolio reaches some fixed number of rentals, then a commercial umbrella becomes mandatory,...

Should a Richmond Rental Include a Washer and Dryer?

For most Richmond single-family rentals that already have functional laundry hookups, PMI James River generally recommends supplying a washer and dryer. In-unit laundry is one of the practical features many renters actively look for, and a home without it can lose prospects befor...

What to look for in tenant references

If you've spent any time reading about tenant screening for rental properties, you already know the basics: pull the credit report, verify the income, check the background. But references? That's where most landlords either cut corners or miss the point entirely.We work w...

Apartment vs. Single-Family Rental in Richmond: Which Is Right for You?

An apartment and a single-family rental can have the same advertised rent and still be very different deals. One may give you a gym, on-site staff, lower utility use, and a move-in special. The other may give you a yard, a driveway, more storage, and nobody walking across your ce...

How Richmond Landlords Can Use AI Without Making Expensive Mistakes

Richmond rental owners can get real value from artificial intelligence when the tool is given the right job. AI can research, organize records, compare documents, draft routine material, troubleshoot basic issues, and automate repetitive work. PMI James River uses AI extensively ...

What Is a Holdover Tenant in Virginia, and What Can a Landlord Do?

A holdover tenant in Virginia is a tenant who remains in possession after a rental agreement has expired or terminated. That does not automatically mean the tenant is wrongfully occupying the property. Virginia law treats a tenant who stays with the landlord's agreement diffe...