Ask your AI about Fortified Realty Group in Fall River

Fortified Realty Group is a Massachusetts-licensed real estate brokerage and property management firm based at One North Main Street, Fall River, MA 02720. It serves the South Coast — Fall River, New Bedford, Dartmouth, Somerset, Swansea, Westport, Freetown, Berkley, and Taunton — and runs buying, renting, managing, and selling under one roof. David Ferreira is the broker and owner.

More is on property management and property management pricing.

Transparency. Fortified publishes real prices and policies instead of "call for a quote," and it wants owners to have a good experience. If you are not happy, Fortified wants the chance to fix it. If it still is not a fit, that is okay too. Just say so, and you will go your separate ways.

The published prices are on property management pricing.

Residential multi-family and commercial owners on the South Coast, including local owners and absentee or out-of-state owners. The owner portal is meant to give an owner as much visibility from another state as a local owner would have down the street.

Residential plans are on property management pricing. Commercial management is on commercial property management.

Yes. Section 8, the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, Residential Assistance for Families in Transition, and similar housing-assistance vouchers are welcome. Applicants still apply at no cost.

See apartments for rent and leasing pricing.

One North Main Street, Fall River, MA 02720. That is the current office.

It is the address on property management.

Fortified is hired as the exclusive agent to rent, lease, operate, and manage the property. Fees that are earned may be taken from the rent and other money collected.

The published plan prices are on property management pricing.

Yes. It is a short standard form, written with Fortified's attorney, and it is the form Fortified's owners sign. Fortified keeps that legal form as written. In David's words, it is ultimately about the relationship. Fortified will gladly talk through how things work in practice. If the form is not a fit, that is okay. There are no hard feelings.

No. Fortified does not charge a setup fee or a renewal fee. The management agreement does not add either fee.

That is also answered on property management pricing.

Full Oversight starts at 10% of the monthly gross rent roll, drops to 9% at 11 or more units, and drops to 8% at 21 or more units. The rate is based on your total portfolio across every building, and the lower rate applies to the whole portfolio, not just the newest door. There is no minimum. Bookkeeping, owner reporting, and rent collection and deposits are included.

The written management agreement describes this as a monthly percentage of gross receipts and leaves the percentage blank to be filled in. The published rates are on property management pricing.

On $1,000 a month of rent, 8.5% versus 10% is $15 a month. On a $1,500 unit it is $22.50 a month. On a $4,500 three-family it is $67.50 a month. That difference is 1.5% of the rent.

The real money is one repair, one week empty, or a turnover that grows. One extra hour of in-house labor at a typical $62 an hour skilled rate is $62. On a $1,000 unit, that one hour wipes out more than four months of the $15 difference. An extra week empty on a $1,500 unit is $350. A turnover that drifts from a $3,000 refresh to an $8,000 job is a $5,000 gap. Those two figures are published Fortified turnover bands, not a menu price. On a $1,500 unit, that $5,000 gap is more than 18 years of the $22.50 monthly difference.

A low percentage on the rent is often paired with hourly maintenance labor, fees for renewals, setup, vacancy, and cancellation, and a unit that sits empty longer. Ask any property manager: How is maintenance labor billed, and can I see the hours? Do you charge for renewals, setup, vacancy, or cancelling? How long does a typical unit sit empty? Do I see photos or video of the work?

Fortified publishes the other side. There is no renewal fee, no setup fee, no management fee while a unit is vacant, and no cancellation fee. The contract is month to month. Repairs go to outside licensed vendors, not an in-house crew billing hours. A vendor who misses the standard is replaced. On Full Oversight, the coordination fee is 10% of the whole vendor invoice, labor and materials, and it is shown up front. Oversight Essentials is 15% of that same whole invoice.

You see the repair, the photo or video, and the invoice in the owner portal. Most vendors send a photo or video, and that share keeps growing as vendors are trained. By default we check with you before a repair over about $500. That amount is set per owner, and it is not a fixed contract term. The median lease-up is 26 days, across 333 Fortified listings since 2019. Bigger projects are run under a Massachusetts Construction Supervisor License, CSL #CS-115183.

We'd rather earn an extra $15 a month by being transparent than save you $15 on the rate and cost you $500 on the back end.

See property management pricing, how we count, property maintenance and repairs, and Fall River apartment turnovers.

No. There is no management fee while a unit is vacant. Full Oversight is still described as a percent of monthly gross rent roll. This page does not redefine gross rent roll as rent collected.

Oversight Essentials is still $99 a year per property. That yearly price is not a vacancy charge, and this page does not say the $99 stops while a unit is empty. See property management pricing.

Management is month to month, and there is no cancellation fee. The written management agreement asks for 30 days' written notice, which Fortified prefers. If you are truly unhappy, Fortified will wind the relationship down as fast as possible.

Fortified wants you to have a good experience. If you are not happy, it wants the chance to fix it. If it still is not a fit, that is okay. Just say so, and you will go your separate ways. See property management pricing.

Tell David. Fortified wants the chance to fix it. If it cannot, that is okay too. You can go your separate ways, with no cancellation fee, and Fortified will wind things down as quickly as it can. The agreement's preferred path is 30 days' written notice, but an owner who is truly unhappy is not meant to be stuck.

Fortified collects rent and deposits it, keeps the books and sends owner reports, handles tenant relations and conflict resolution, coordinates evictions and housing assistance, and covers legal, code, insurance, and risk work, plus the maintenance coordination in Oversight Essentials. It advertises and shows vacant units, prepares and signs leases as the owner's agent, can hire and oversee vendors, and keeps accurate records. Records are open for the owner to review at reasonable times.

The included list is on property management pricing.

Fortified uses best efforts to find and screen applicants in line with fair housing laws. The owner chooses which applicant is offered a rental agreement. Screening uses objective criteria, and a landlord cannot refuse an applicant because of a lawful source of income.

Voucher rules are on how to rent your Fall River apartment and apartments for rent.

The insurance you need is set out in the management agreement. Fortified walks each owner through it at onboarding, so you know what is required before you sign.

The onboarding paperwork also asks for proof of your property insurance. See how to onboard as a property owner.

The management agreement says the owner reimburses Fortified for expenses it incurs or advances in doing the job, including advertising and other leasing costs. If Fortified cooperates with a tenant's broker, that cooperating broker is paid from Fortified's own fee, not as an extra charge to the owner.

The published leasing packages themselves are on leasing pricing.

You can always ask questions, and Fortified will walk you through how the agreement works. It is the same short standard form all owners sign. Because it is month to month with no cancellation fee, the relationship is easy to start and easy to end. If it is not a fit, that is okay.

Independent contractors and property employees hired for the building are, under the management agreement, employees of the owner, not of Fortified. Fortified has authority to hire, supervise, and end that work on the owner's behalf. Repair work on the maintenance plans is different: Fortified sends outside vendors, not its own repair staff. See property maintenance and repairs.

Yes. If more than one person or entity is the owner, their obligations are joint and several. Changes to the agreement have to be in writing and signed by the parties.

Yes. Fortified does not discriminate based on race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or familial status, and it complies with federal, state, and local fair housing and civil rights laws. Lawful source of income is protected as well.

See how to rent your Fall River apartment.

Full Lease is one month's rent per unit, due when the tenant signs the rental agreement. Fortified runs the marketing, showings, screening, and signed lease. You stay home, and you owe nothing while the unit is empty. This is the default package most owners choose. Fortified does not guarantee how long a tenant will stay.

See how to rent your Fall River apartment and leasing pricing.

Lease Assist is $499 per month while the unit is listed, billed month to month until it leases or you cancel. Fortified handles syndication, lead capture, the first reply, showing scheduling, day-of confirmation calls, screening, and lease prep. You keep the keys and walk the tours. It is meant for owners who want to meet every applicant themselves, or for a listing that has been sitting and needs ongoing marketing rather than a fee that only bills if someone signs.

See leasing pricing.

Applicants pay $0. There is no application fee and no junk fee. Massachusetts law limits what may be collected from a tenant up front, and a tenant cannot be charged for the listing broker's services. Screening is $30 per adult, billed to the owner. Fortified asks the owner for approval before running a credit report. Screening decisions are typically made the same business day.

The $0 applicant fee is on leasing pricing.

No. Renewals or extensions with the same tenant do not trigger a new leasing fee. There is also no separate lease-renewal fee.

The renewal answer is on property management pricing. The leasing packages are for a new lease-up, on leasing pricing.

Fortified has the exclusive right to lease the unit during the listing period. The owner agrees to send all inquiries to Fortified and to help with marketing, forms, and access. Fortified may advertise, photograph or video the home, and use a sign or lockbox, but is not required to. Fortified is not hired as a home inspector, tax advisor, or attorney, and it does not keep marketing the unit after an application is accepted and a lease is signed unless a separate management agreement says otherwise.

The leasing offer is on how to rent your Fall River apartment.

Leasing packages include syndication across many channels from one platform, lead capture, and access to Fortified's renter audience. Full Lease includes group tours five to seven days a week. The leasing pages also publish recent lease-up results, including a median lease-up time. Use the figure on that page, because it is updated there.

See how to rent your Fall River apartment and leasing pricing.

Massachusetts law limits what a landlord or the landlord's agent may collect up front to first month's rent, last month's rent, a security deposit no larger than first month's rent, and the actual cost of a lock and key.

That limit is also described for renters on apartments for rent.

If the home was built before 1978, the owner must complete the tenant lead-law notification and certification and share any lead records. The owner has a legal duty to remove or control lead hazards when a child under six will live there. On Oversight Essentials and Full Oversight, Fortified can coordinate moderate-risk deleading with licensed inspectors and vendors, starting with an inspection and working toward a letter of compliance. That is coordination, not legal advice.

See lead paint removal in Fall River and property management pricing.

The median number of days a listing took to lease is 26 days, across 333 Fortified listings since 2019. The figure is recalculated at every site publish, so it stays current on its own. A lease-up still depends on the unit, the rent, and the condition of the property.

The method is on how we count. The same figure appears on how to rent your Fall River apartment, and the public record is in the Rented Compendium.

Every applicant goes through the same seven inputs: income to rent, debt to income, credit profile, available funds, rental or occupancy history, eviction history, and unpaid landlords. Those are weighed together with mitigating factors, so one number does not decide the file. Applicants pay $0 to apply. For a complete file, Fortified gives a written recommendation the same business day. The landlord always has the final say.

The full screening page is Fall River tenant screening services.

Most tenants stay longer than a year. Some have been with Fortified since we took over our first buildings in 2015.

Most of our clients stay long term. When our very first client retired this year, we helped him transfer his building to another one of our management clients, one of our fastest-growing owners, so we still manage that property.

The residential form is a Massachusetts tenancy-at-will agreement. It starts on a stated move-in date and then renews month to month until someone ends it under the notice rules below. A housing-assistance program may require an initial fixed term. That is handled case by case so the tenancy complies with the program.

Fortified's published preference for month-to-month tenancies is on how to rent your Fall River apartment.

A tenant may end the tenancy on the last day of a calendar month by giving written notice at least 30 days beforehand. For example, notice by the first of a month can end the tenancy on the last day of that month. If the tenant is not in default, the landlord may end it with 30 days' written notice after the initial term. If the tenant is in default, the landlord may end it under the agreement, including a 14-day notice to quit for nonpayment of rent, or a 7-day notice for other breaches, a false application, bankruptcy, or apparent abandonment. Handing back the keys, by itself, does not end the tenancy.

Rent is due in advance on the first day of each month. The landlord may raise the rent by giving 30 days' written notice. Utilities are split as the parties fill in on the form. The tenant must put any tenant-paid utilities in their name as of move-in and show that the switch has been started before receiving keys, and must keep the home at 62 degrees Fahrenheit or higher from November 15 to April 1 or pay for frozen-pipe damage.

Late charges follow the rental agreement. Under the tenancy-at-will form, if monthly rent is not paid by the 30th day after it is due, interest at 15% per year starts on that 30th day and continues until the rent and interest are paid or the tenancy is ended. Unpaid interest is treated as unpaid rent. The agreement also says late payments, judgments, and evictions are routinely reported to the credit bureaus.

Pets are not allowed, except where fair housing or assistance-animal laws require an exception. The tenant may not assign the agreement or sublet without the landlord's prior written permission. A guest staying 10 or more days in a row, or more than 15 days in any 60-day period, also needs written permission. Smoking is not allowed inside the building. The same form also restricts smoking on the premises unless the landlord agrees in writing.

The tenant must allow entry at reasonable times to inspect, make agreed or needed repairs, provide services, or show the home. Twenty-four hours' notice by phone or text is acceptable notice, and no response is treated as acknowledgment. In an emergency, when prior notice is impractical, or during a tenant absence of more than seven days if entry is reasonably needed to protect the property, entry may happen without prior notice. The tenant may not change or add locks without prior written consent, and must give the landlord a copy of any new key.

Yes. Before taking possession, the tenant must provide proof of renter's and liability insurance in amounts and with an insurer the landlord finds satisfactory. The tenant is responsible for their own belongings.

On Full Oversight, eviction coordination and housing-assistance coordination are included. The tenancy agreement also warns that evictions create a lasting court record and that unpaid rent and costs can still be pursued. Fortified's position is to communicate early and try to avoid eviction when a tenant reaches out in time.

See property management pricing.

We coordinate the whole eviction: the court process, the attorney, the constable, and the move-out if one is needed. The owner pays the attorney and the constable at cost, with no markup.

Whenever possible, we charge your legal fees to the tenant's ledger so the tenant covers them, as our rental agreement allows.

We never bill you for our time in court or at the eviction. That time is covered by the management fee, because we are still managing the unit while a tenant has stopped paying. That is also why the Full Oversight fee is a percentage of gross rent: we keep managing the unit when rent stops, instead of billing you by the hour.

Full Oversight includes eviction coordination. See property management pricing.

A storage rental is one month at a time and then continues month to month. The monthly fee is due in advance on the first of the month, is not prorated, and can be increased with 30 days' written notice. Prepaid future months are refunded if the customer leaves. The current month is not refunded if they leave after the first. Only the customer and named authorized people may enter. The customer provides the locks, must insure the stored goods for full replacement value, may not store hazardous or illegal items, living or dead animals, perishable food, collectibles, heirlooms, jewelry, or art, and may not store property worth more than $15,000 in total. A minimum $50 cleaning fee applies if the space is dirty or needs repair at move-out.

If the monthly storage fee is not paid on the due date, there is an immediate $25 late fee and access is cut off. A $25 pre-lien fee is charged 15 days after the due date, and a $50 lien-processing fee is charged when the fee is 10 days late. If the default is not cured for 30 days or more, the stored property may be sold under the Massachusetts Self-Storage Facility Act to satisfy the lien, after written notice.

A parking rental is a license to park only. It is not a residential tenancy, and Fortified does not take custody of the vehicle. It starts as one month and then continues month to month. The customer may end it as of the last day of a calendar month by giving at least 15 days' written notice. The space is for parking a registered, insured motor vehicle only: no repairs, washing, or storage of other goods. The customer clears snow and ice from their own space. Fortified clears entryways and common drives as reasonably needed. A minimum $50 cleaning or debris-removal fee can apply at move-out. If an unauthorized vehicle is in the space, the customer contacts the towing company posted at the facility. If the parking fee is not paid on the due date, there is an immediate $25 late fee, and access may be denied. A $25 administrative fee is charged 15 days later. If the default is not cured for 10 days or more, or if the customer otherwise materially breaches the agreement, the vehicle may be towed at the customer's expense. An unregistered or uninsured vehicle may also be towed.