Recently on the Bigger Pockets forums (if you do not know what I am talking about get over to www.BiggerPockets.com and check it out) this question was posted. I was very interested to see the responses as they all came from owners like you.
To summarize the responses, the feelings about property managers were pretty universal. Answers fell into one of two categories. - Bad Communication
- Bad Ethics
Is It Fair To Think Property Managers Suck?
I actually think this is a pretty fair question. Every day I am being introduced to potential new clients who are experiencing one or both of these issues. So, the question that I have is why are so many property managers operating with these issues?
I can try and give a quick couple of answers because this newsletter is not designed to be a long-form read. Simply, many people become property managers as an after thought. It is not their main business and they treat it and the related activities as a step-child. These tend to be either real estate sales agents or contractors/turnkey/wholesalers. Now, I am not saying all of these entities suffer as property managers. I am just stating this is my experience.
I don't understand why anyone would want to be in property management unless they are committed to the services. Our company does provide other real estate services but we have been committed to property management for 20 years. We are not using it as a path to other services (though we hope we are considered). We certainly do not take advantage of our clients by placing every type of tenant in your property and then ignoring your questions about late rent.
Most of the properties we assume from other managers are in a state of neglect. It was only when the owner finally had enough of not hearing anything, and being taken advantage of, that a move in providers was instigated. By then, things are usually such a mess I tell new clients that we have a 3-6 month window needed to clean it up.
So, sadly, I believe there are enough examples to understand why some investors may consider property managers as less than esteemed or trustworthy. I hope, if you are reading this, that you consider our business different. I spend every day trying to make sure our business does not suck.
Digging Into Data
A new feature this month is to share with you something you may not know from your Owner portal. We answer questions daily regarding charges to an owner's account. What you may not know is that there is a report on your portal called the Vendor Ledger that shows the bills and payments to vendors on your account. |
