Is contacting my tenant a bad idea if I have a property manager ?

Question

Im closing on my first remote investment. Its got a tenant who so far seems great. I was thinking before I get things with the PM I have chosen set up, that I connect with the tenant. Ask him to let me know if he has any issues with the PM. As a way to vet the PM. Is this a bad idea ?

Sheri Fluellen · Answer

I think everyone has beat the dead horse on not contacting the tenant.  I do want to applaud you for your desire to vet your PM.  There are other creative ways of doing that, such as contacting people around your new property and seeing if you can hunt down the property owners of their other properties they manage.  I would look at their website and take note of addresses.  Then you can search them through tax assessors website. If owners are only using LLCs, it might be more challenging.  But worth a shot.

Steven Foster Wilson · Answer

This beats the purpose of having a PM in the first place. I'd stay away of having that thought if I was you.

Nathan Fisher · Answer

Yeah, don't do that.

@Colleen F. that's a slippery slope. when a property manager has 500 or 5000 units, there's no way to be in instant contact with a tenant. A tenant is used to instant gratification for any small thing, they'll claim a response in 12-24 hours actually means" It's impossible to reach them" Then they're calling you to complain when the property manager has already fixed their issue.

Make sure your property manager sets very clear processes and expectations for communicating between PM and residents.

Colleen F. · Answer

@Gurjot Grewal I don't know about upfront, might not be good but I did do a survey with about 8 questions for 2 different PMs for some apartments after each of them was managing for a while.   Had the tenants rate them on ability to reach. problems reaching.  How many contacts, did they ever visit the office.  Any issues....  Basically I wanted to see what value they added on the tenant side and verify complaints across a number of tenants. If this is a new PM and one property probably not going to work.     Also you have to do it without giving out  alot of contact information.

I wound up finding out the PM office was not open during posted office hours which RI requires and were slow on callbacks. I also had a tenant say I contacted them to get permission for a cat news to me in a no pet property.  So while I agree you don't want to undermine the PM you also want to be sure the PM is delivering the service they are contracted for.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

It seems like a good idea, but it's really bad. The Tenant will use this as an opportunity to pit you against the PM, just like a kid that plays mom and dad against each other. Here are some real examples from me as a PM:

I do an annual inspection on a small house and discover three large dogs that were not approved by me. Tenant tells me they spoke with the Landlord when he visited the property for some lawn maintenance and he said it was ok to have pets. I talk to the Landlord and he claims he told the Tenants they could have "a pet" but they had to ask the PM. Nobody told me, I have nothing in writing, so now I have a he-said, she-said scenario.

I went to another house for a move-out inspection to discover the entire place was painted dark grey, purple, and even black. Tenants claim the Landlord told them they could paint. I ask the Landlord and he admits to visiting the property and speaking with the Tenants. They asked if they could paint, and he said it was OK as long as they did a good job. He thought they wanted to paint an accent wall or a single room and never imagined they would paint the entire house or use such terrible colors.

If your PM is a professional, they will protect you and the property. Let them do their job. You can supervise them other ways.

Eliott Elias · Answer

You are defeating the purpose of hiring a PM. They are not there for hospitality service, they are there to make sure the property is occupied and rent is paid.

Hunter Reed · Answer

Gurjot, congrats on your first remote investment! You are defiantly asking the right question. If I were you I would contact the tenant so that you can slowly build a relationship with them. Ask them if there are any problems with the property and address your question about the PM. If the PM is not doing there job find someone who can.

Bob S. · Answer

YES!!! The owners should not have any contact with the tenant, and the last thing you want is for the tenant to have your phone number

Is contacting my tenant a bad idea if I have a property manager ?

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