MultFamily Rental investment gone wrong. Any advice?

[Jacob Beg]

I have purchased a multi family over a year ago, rehab took almost 6 months and it was mainly due to, and a series of poor contractors and poor property managers, as I was doing this from afar. The property was acquired through a hard money loan that is expiring soon and I still have not been able to rent a single unit. In effect, I have been paying a mortgage for over a year and it has really put a major dent.

I have a new property manager, and frankly, I do not know what to think of them either. The property was recently rehabbed, they want me to spend ton of money, almost implying that the property does not present well. I have rehabbed enough single family units to know what costs are like. They suggest that I use their contractors, but their pricing seem outrageously high. Recently, they engaged a plumber to investigate a gas leak and the recommendation was that the gas line needs changed in one the units at a cost of $3600. I got another master gas tech, as a second opinion, who fixed the issue for $50, as it was a leaky stove. It turned out that the “plumber” they engaged isn’t even licensed. And now I have an invoice of $150.

My main concern is how to get this rented out at this stage, do I part ways again. I manage a sizeable portfolio myself-all from afar. But I was burning out and wanted to engage a property manager. They seem to fit the bill, etc. I also notice that property managers tend to do block viewings, they will show it to bunch of people and sometimes coordinating everyone’s schedule means that it may be some time before the “actual viewing”. Of course, that’s costly to the owner. They are effectively blaming “the product and the pricing that I have asked for”. I have a very aggressive style of investing and a sales background, so something seem amiss.

I am time poor, so I do not wish to undertake this myself. And frankly, I probably don’t want to do multi-family units anymore. I feel I have such an edge on the single family units, as I know my market quite well and have great connections. This project has horribly gone wrong, and I cannot sell at this stage. And of course, refinancing means that I now have to put even more money and refi at higher rates as rates have not come down as expected.

Rant over… I am just looking for some ideas/support on what is the next move. I can fire the PM, that’ easy. And not sure if that’s the right idea.