Time for a new PM

J

Jayro

Ok well we thought we were doing the right thing when we choose one of our current PM's but that wasnt to be the case. We thought that since our property was interstate that we would pay a little extra and hope for better service but that hasnt been the case. We pay 2% more than the other agents in town charge and we pay $4.40 per statement rather than the $2.70the others charge. We have 2 per month for these. We have fallen for the old sales spill. We were paying this higher rate as this PM only offers there platinum deal. Highers rates yes but a level of service that no one else offers. hmmmm

We have had a few issues over the last few months including being told they no longer want to manage our property because I wasnt spending enough on reno's to keep it up to the standard they require. This is after I just gave the go ahead for $3600 worth of new carpet and to paint the place inside. We spent $1500 on roof make over 12 months ago and have said yes to any maintenance issues along the way. Anyhow we came to an agreement but unfortunately its one thing after another. We had new tenants move in 2 weeks ago. The Pm done an exit inspection and condition report. all ok. Then new tenant moves in and apparently several lights dont work and a tap is leaking. The tap I can understand the PM would not check by turning on/off etc. BUT the lights??? surely. Anyhow I very politely asked why these were missed during the exit inspection and now I need to inconvenience my new tenant with an electrician etc. The reply I got was my PM asking me why im blaming her office for these problems. Anyhow her wish is my comand and time for a new PM and hopefuly a good one. Im certainly easy to deal with and dont expect the world but gee when im paying for this platinum service and get treated like crap for asking a simple question. One im entiltled to ask since its my money going out each week.

So enough of the negatives. Im heading to Tassie for a quick trip to check out our property and chat with a few PM's as im sure there is one or 2 nice ones and ones that are happy to manage my place for a good price and do a good job. I spoke to two today and both came across lovely which is a good start anyway.

Im just wondering what questions should I be asking the new PM's? Is it just the usual, fee's, what they provide for the fee's, any other important things I need to be asking???

Thanks in advance
Jas!
 
Jayco,
The PM telling you the property is not up to their standard? I'd be finding a new PM pronto. Do they even realise who is paying their wages? perhaps not.

As I've said on this forum before, people just don't seem to care anymore and client service is not in their vocabulary. There are plenty of good PMs out there who will look after your business and in turn, their business. It's just a matter of sifting the wheat from the chaff.

Sorry I can't help with a recommendation in Tassie.

Project 1080.

The project: 10 IPs in 80 mths.
 
Very true Y-man. The thing that really annouys me is the way they make out like im being so unreasonable and how dare I question them. EVen when I spoke to the other PM's down there today from other agencys I found myself trying to reassure them that im not a pain in the *** to deal with and I dont expect too much and just want a nice, pleasant PM to deal with and one that is happy to do a good job for the money they charge me.

I even found myself ringing mates with IP's etc and asking if "I" was the one out of line but hey all seem to agree that its time for a new PM so thats the way I will go. Have no probs with our other pm's in other states so I figure I cant be too much of a pain to deal with. SURELY lol

Cheers Jas!
 
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Project1080 said:
The PM telling you the property is not up to their standard? .....Do they even realise who is paying their wages? perhaps not.
Click to expand...

Yes, believe it or not - I have had this response from PMs (not for my own personal properties though).

The rationale is that they don't want tenant demands to fix things on a regular basis or have to arrange a lot of repairs & quotes etc on what they consider a sub-standard property. Too much effort for their small (LARGE) commission I suppose. Easier to get a nice new one (property) to manage with no work to do.;)
 
Project1080 said:
Jayco,
The PM telling you the property is not up to their standard? .
Click to expand...

I'm not defending the pm nor suggesting that this is the case here, but we have had cases where landlrods refuse to rectify maintenance issues on properties to a point where the tenant calls a tribunal hearing and orders the landlord to rectify the issues through legal means.

This is a waste of the property managers time, as they (well at least we) would recommend for the issues to be fixed before the hearing, it is a waste of tax payers money, in SA tribunal hearings are held free to tenants and landlords, and they cause stress to the tenant who is really a client of the landlord and should be treated as such.

We have told clients that ":the property is not up to our standards to manage" meaning that it is appauling living conditions for the tenant and we could be dealing with a landlord who would refuse to rectify any issues. Why would any pm want to take on a client that does not care about their own investment nor their most valuable client... the tenant?


I'm not suggesting that is the case here Jayco, just offering another perspective that is real and does happen in the property investing arena.


X
 
Xenia

Out of curiosity,As a percentage of landlords,in your experience, how many are not willing to maintain the proprties to a satisfactory level?

Big Tone
 
Xenia said:
I'm not defending the pm nor suggesting that this is the case here, but we have had cases where landlrods refuse to rectify maintenance issues on properties to a point where the tenant calls a tribunal hearing and orders the landlord to rectify the issues through legal means.

This is a waste of the property managers time, as they (well at least we) would recommend for the issues to be fixed before the hearing, it is a waste of tax payers money, in SA tribunal hearings are held free to tenants and landlords, and they cause stress to the tenant who is really a client of the landlord and should be treated as such.

We have told clients that ":the property is not up to our standards to manage" meaning that it is appauling living conditions for the tenant and we could be dealing with a landlord who would refuse to rectify any issues. Why would any pm want to take on a client that does not care about their own investment nor their most valuable client... the tenant?


I'm not suggesting that is the case here Jayco, just offering another perspective that is real and does happen in the property investing arena.


X
Click to expand...


Point taken Xenia.
I couldn't imagine why a landlord would let their property get into such a state that a PM would refuse to take it on.

Personally I have fairly high standards and haven't come across another who would have such low standards as to be rejected by a PM. Perhaps I should get out more.

I suppose it's just my level of thinking. If they aren't even intelligent enough to maintain their property to at least an acceptable standard, then they wouldn't be intelligent enough to even be a property investor.

Project 1080.

The project: 10 IPs in 80 mths.
 
yeh point taken but certainly not the case here. Im moe than willing and keen to ensure my property is in a good condition and continually improving its condition.

Tone we are yet to make a move regarding a new PM. Im currently talking with 2 possible new agents but just doing a bit of home work and getting current repairs finished and invoices for those repairs sorted before I move on.

The unfortunate thing is that she actually "manages" the property ok BUT i will not be dictated to by any PM regarding my property and how I spend my money. I cant stand the smart *** stand over attitude like if I dont do it her way then im out of options. Im sure the other agents in Burnie are also capable of doing their jobs well.

Cheers Jas!
 
Jayro said:
she actually "manages" the property ok BUT i will not be dictated to by any PM regarding my property and how I spend my money.
Click to expand...

But Jas - who is the "boss" in the trifecta of stakeholders ??

Is it the Owner of the property ??
Is it the business owner who runs the agency ??
Is it the Tenant who cntrols the property whilst holding a valid Lease ??



Jayro said:
I cant stand the smart *** stand over attitude like if I dont do it her way then im out of options. Im sure the other agents in Burnie are also capable of doing their jobs well.
Click to expand...


But that's not the point Jas, they are all obviously capable of doing their jobs....but that is not what you are asking them to do. You are asking them to do extra work on their part to save you cash as an Owner. That has a detrimental effect on their business model, and I'm almost positive they won't pursue it.


....and I'm pretty sure that the Principals of the other agencies will have similar business models to the Principal of the agency you are with right now. What differences do you expect in their demands compared to the one you are dealing with ??


Do you honestly expect them to drop their business' modus operandi just because you as the Property Owner demand it ??
 
TPFKAD said:
Do you honestly expect them to drop their business' modus operandi just because you as the Property Owner demand it ??
Click to expand...

So hot nuts, do you honestly expect to pay a Property Manager (over and above the market rate, which they claim they can offer better service by paying the extra) and not have them manage the property? Especially when you could be paying less for someone not to manage the property?

If the business' modus operandi is ripping ppl off then the answer to your question I suppose is no!

But if you could see past the end of nose you would not come up with posts like these!

(Come on, bring it on, the crowd is waiting for a bit of laugh!)
 
Hi Jas

I just hope for your sake the carpet and painting has been done to a level that warrants the $3600 spend and that the roof was actually replaced rather than just patched for the $1500. I assume that you have not inspected either over the time and will shortly see the result of the big bucks spent.

I tend to think that you have just picked a looser PM who happens to be a legend in his/hers own mind and possibly you have persevered with them about 2 years to long (about the time that the big ticket items started flowing through).

Personally we have a zero spend policy with all our PM's. This works well as we get an appreciation for what is happening and what is deteriorating. We can also determine whether we want to spend wasteful dollars repairing something which really should be replaced.

One place where this may apply in your situation is the roof where $1500 may only have been a repair or partial replace but $3000 could have replaced the whole roof and maybe even the gutters. (just an example)

The Pm's generally don't know building repairs and the younger one's even lack common sense approach to simple issues such as a midnight flash on a digital stove. "Can I send an electrician out as stove not working" - simply needed the time set on the digital clock incorporated in the stove and controlling the whole oven operation no time - no work :( What this means is they want, and 'buy' with your money, the simplest solution that gets the problem of their todo list not necesarily the solution which is the most cost effective for you as a landlord.

But, and its a big but, we are prepared to get involved to this level to ensure that our expenses are very controlled. Don't get me wrong we spend when we reno the property and extensively reno the properties to a high level but we do this so we don't need to continually spend to simply keep the property disirable. We try and spend the money when we can absolutely controll the quality and the amount.

So apart from the fees which really is just a straight comparison between various agencies we ensure that the agency is happy to work with our zero spend policy. Maybe also look at the experience of the principle PM - if they are all 20 year olds then maybe they could be lacking experience particularly in the statutory and common sense areas.

In the end it horses for courses and boils down to how you want to interact with the PM.

Cheers
 
Jayro said:
Im just wondering what questions should I be asking the new PM's? Is it just the usual, fee's, what they provide for the fee's, any other important things I need to be asking???
Jas!
Click to expand...

Oddly enough, when choosing my current PM (been with him for 4-5 years now), I asked around my renter friends to see who they thought was good. A couple of recommendation later and here I was. I needed someone who would both treat me well and the tenants, and I'm pleased with the result. He does a great balancing act.

I admit this only works when you invest in the same town that you live in...

But maybe a google search of prospective PMs would do as well?

Jas (you and I, we should start a Jas club)
 
TPFKAD i dont agree with you at all. You have mentioned some rubbish in that reply. Im not sure where I demand anything :confused: Where am i asking the PM to do more than their job? I never expect more from them than what im paying them for. As with most things in life. What I dont expect is a phone call from my PM asking me to carry out some (non urgent) repairs and when I say this can wait for a little while as Iv just spent near $4000 on other repairs she requested she then gives me a return phone call telling me she no longer wants to manage my property and the new tenant they had lined up to sign the lease that day, well she will call them and tell them is no longer an option. Now thats great PM service wouldnt you say. What a joke. If I was like that in my line of work our clients would promptly tell us where to go.

Anyhow appreciate your input. The PM made it clea they didnt want my property that day so hey, who am I to argue :) and iv keen on a weekend getaway so the perfect chance for me.

Handyandy thanks for your input. To answer your question, NO. The painting and carpet didnt justify the $3600. The carpets and lino for $2000, yes. Reasonable price and a huge improvment. The painting for $1600, diffinantly not. When they said it was to include painting the kitchen I was under the impression it ment the whole kitchen not just the walls and ceilings. See the kitchen cupboards are a filthy pink/purple and I was under the impression that these were included hence why I accpeted the quote. BUT thats ok, its a lesson learned and Im now more educated on a few things for next time so as long as I got something out of it then alls good.

As for the roof. Well there was no chance you will get a new roof (well installed) for $1500. This was a repair and seal which we do on all our roofs including our PPOR. Works well, comes up good, I can claim as a repair etc so it suites what we want. Replace quotes (3 we got) were all aound the $4000-$5000 mark.

You mention the PM getting an electrician to go out to fix the stove. Hmmm I just had to pay an electrician to go fit a starter to a fluro because they said it should work before they move in ( whih I agree with) but surely they could have popped one in rather than make me pay for a sparky to go fit it.

Anyhow, appreciate the replies. Will pop down there in the next month id say and get it sorted.

Cheers Jas!
( your right Jas, the Jas club it is :) )
 
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