PM rant

This is only a semi rant, but im starting to think my expectations of a professional company/service is too high. Id like to think im a reasonable human being and I think that if PM agencies were actually financially liable for any screw ups, then 99% of problems wouldnt occur,

this is a conversation via phone I had with my PM moments ago

Me: i just got my statement, and ive got a bill for almost $600 for a toilet, that I wasnt aware of
them: oh yeah you would be getting a copy of the invoice soon, so have a look at it
me; I got a email but no invoice attached
them: oh we post one a week or two later as well, you can wait for that
me: regardless, $600 for a simple cheap toilet replacement is silly, i need to be notified of any repairs, thats common courtesy
the: oh ok, we will make a note on your file and let the other staff know...oh hang on there is a note already here. also fyi we have a signed authroity from you stating that any emergecny repair under $500 we have authority to
me: the bill is over $500
them: we trust our plumber and he would never overcharge
me: thats not the point, you have to let me know
them: ok,
me: oh btw did you call the tenant about the high water bill that I received and let you know about
them: yeah we mentioned it to him but havent followed it up
me: did you also get the scan of the 2nd water bill for almost $5k last week that I emailed you
them: oh yeah but our scanner reader isnt working very well and is only printing off half the page, but we saw the figure
me: AND???
them: yeah, we might get him to monitor the meter and it could be the toilet that was replaced that was leaking
me: I thought you wuld have done that after teh first notice?
them: he only comes in once a fortnight to pay his rent so we dont see him that often
me: im sure a quick phone call would suffice and possibly prevent him from getting another $5k water bill!

are my expectations too high!?
 
I hear of this sort of thing on a pretty regular basis. Everyone loves to complain about their PMs.

It's funny that majority of the complaints aren't even that complicated, your's is no exception. It'd be a complete non-issue if they knew how to make a phone call or send an email to advise when/why/what was happening.

I'm always of the opinion that I'd rather tell someone the progress I have, even if it's not complete yet or at the level of progress it's meant to be at. People would much rather hear from me that I'm working on it than have to sit wondering whats happening, or have to make a phone call themselves to find out. Communication 101, really.
 
Fire him and get a new one instantly.

Also - it's QLD yeah? Get the tenant to pay for water usage.

It was a huge battle with my PM (which I have now moved on from) but they finally realised I was right and this is possible.
 
Fire him and get a new one instantly.

Also - it's QLD yeah? Get the tenant to pay for water usage. It was a huge battle with my PM but they finally realised I was right and this is possible.
 
I hear of this sort of thing on a pretty regular basis. Everyone loves to complain about their PMs.

It's funny that majority of the complaints aren't even that complicated, your's is no exception. It'd be a complete non-issue if they knew how to make a phone call or send an email to advise when/why/what was happening.

I'm always of the opinion that I'd rather tell someone the progress I have, even if it's not complete yet or at the level of progress it's meant to be at. People would much rather hear from me that I'm working on it than have to sit wondering whats happening, or have to make a phone call themselves to find out. Communication 101, really.

totally agree with you,

im tryign to do a favour for hte tenants hip pocket for this huge water bill

I just find it odd that I have follow up on them doing their job,

like I said before if in a perfect world they were fianncially responsible for a mistake, then im sure the service would be 300% better

Fire him and get a new one instantly.

Also - it's QLD yeah? Get the tenant to pay for water usage.

It was a huge battle with my PM (which I have now moved on from) but they finally realised I was right and this is possible.

its in NSW, and yes the tenant should be resposnbile for the usage, but im not 100% sure if its due to a leak or something similar, im actually dreading it
 
5K for water use ??? That's like 3.6 MILLION litres or a whole 10metre pool every day of the week. (40,000 litres a day...Or 1666 litres a hour. That's a huge flow rate)

You sure they aren't bottling for Coca Cola ? Operating a hydro drug farm inside your IP ?
 
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If the toilet was leaking that much, i'm sure it would have been noticed.

With the toilet though, plumbers get away with over charging with rental properties because they always get paid regardless. All this happens because it's just a job for the real estate employees so they don't care how much it costs the owner or bother to investigate the issue properly.

I can give an example. Recently a guy came to me asking for advice because his current agent sent him a quote of $1150 for a new gas stove which he thought was too expensive.
I mentioned that it's possible to get it done for $850 but advised him to get a 2nd opinion first, so he got stove doctor to have a look and it turns out that the tenant just didn't know how to operate the gas igniter..

I pay for my mistakes if they occur because it's not fair on the property owner. I've seen many things that have cost owners thousands of dollars, which doesn't sit right with me. That's the main reason I've gone into business for myself. It's not about the money but the service and satisfaction of a great job that pays me.
 
Problem is property agents wanna double dip and try to make money on the side by hiring their own tradies that in turn give em kick back...

should just tell them to go suck a and let someone else manage it or manage it yourself. :)
 
update; looks like they thought I was too much trouble for their worth

I sent them a short nice email that basically went, 'im still waiting to hear back for the invoice breakdown for the toilet, and have you contacted the tenant'

I received a 'looks like you arent happy with our services, so we will give 30 days termination'

I guess I was put in the too hard basket, time to move on

on another note,

for another of my ips, I changed agents from an agent that was managing 6 of my properties, they were good for 2 years, had a reputation of being anal and really selective about their tenants, and I had a problem at the end, so I moved to another agent. anyway, a tenant has left leaving a bit of a mess after being there for about 2 years, we asked the agent for an ingoing inspection report, to be only told that they didnt do one or cant find it.

I seriously know how to pick em!

maybe my selection criteria is bad ;)
 
What sort of fees are you paying?
Wondering if it's just bad luck and horrible management or reflective of a lower fee schedule?
 
Low fees are not sustainable for business and means they have to manage more properties overall which is why service can't be as good.

In this case I think it's just a bad property manager and agency. They really shouldn't be in this industry if that's how they act.
 
I received a 'looks like you arent happy with our services, so we will give 30 days termination'

I hope you intend to continue pushing them for the invoice? Yes they may not want to put up with you, but they still have to do the job for the time they've managed it up till now.

I wouldn't be paying a cent over the $500 authorised for emergency repairs - if they paid the plumber $600 without authorisation thats not your issue.
 
Eekkk... I admit this is one of the things I enjoy about self managing... I know there is no conflict of interests ;)

It should not be hard for an agent to act within their authority!
 
What sort of fees are you paying?
Wondering if it's just bad luck and horrible management or reflective of a lower fee schedule?

I dunno, in my decades of experience, a higher fee schedule is no guarantee of better property management (good marketing ploy though). Some of the worse PMs I've come across were the more expensive ones. Sure, below a base line, a PM has to earn enough revenue to cover costs of exceptional services but that doesn't mean that the higher fees necessarily = better management. You could be paying higher fees for inefficiency or simply to feed a gouge.
 
Eekkk... I admit this is one of the things I enjoy about self managing...

Ditto! why I prefer to buy local and look after it myself.

With empathy being an agent PM would be a crap/demanding job, too many listings and personalities to keep up with to ensure my/your place is being looked after efficiently.
High expectations from the boss, crap pay, imagine some of the homes they'd have to go through, stepping over/touching all sorts of shiet etc (I've been told soiled babies nappies), suggest to owner their not looking after the property we should get rid of them, owner replies "what for? their paying their rent aren't they, leave them alone" back for another inspection through a cesspool with bad attitude tenants, no thanks.
 
There is no real way to know what manager will be good until you have them and watch what is happening, at least till you know they are doing the job right.

Also no way to know till you have tried a bunch, some are utterly useless & will def cost you.
 
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