My Property Manager failed to notify tenants to vacate rental property

[David Blessinger]

Over a month ago I notified my property manager both verbally and in writing that I intended to sell the rental house so I need the tenants to vacate by April.  The house needs quite a bit of updating before its ready to put on the market so I'd already booked painters, new carpet, appliances etc. plus my own travel from out of state so I could fix most other issues myself.  Today I discovered that the property manager failed to notify the tenants so now the tenants legally have until May 1st to stay in the property.  I live across the country so this is a MAJOR inconvenience for me both financially and time wise considering I had already booked traveling expenses and lost out on work that I can't get back plus potential future lost work.  

The property manager apologized but didn't really have much to offer other than saying I could go ahead and list the property for sale and see if the tenants are willing to move sooner.  As previously mentioned, the property needs a decent amount of work and the renters don't keep the place that clean so I don't think its in my best interest to put the house on the market right now.  

Given the situation, what if any actions should I consider with the property manager or the situation in general? Thank you in advance for any helpful advice!

[Patricia Steiner]

Check your PM agreement on acts of malpractice/failure to perform.  Unfortunately, as landlords, we have to manage PMs and require their confirmation and follow-up to our requests. If it were me, I would have the PM not only notify them of the termination/exit date but make an offer that makes moving out earlier to their advantage - at the PM's expense.  It may be to pay for a moving truck if they move out by the 15th, offer a small bonus - $200 - for exit within 10 days, something.  Go back to the PM and let that person know that 30-days of being held hostage due to a failure to perform is simply too costly for you and that you need for her to market an early departure from the very start.  Expect and initiate a follow-up call to check on the status - and the PM should be speaking with each tenant individually to gauge their exit plan/date and schedule a final walk-through.  Stay on this and expect more of the PM - even/especially now.

Best...