Property Managers Seem to Forget Who They're Working For

Property Managers Seem to Forget Who They're Working For

Real Estate Investor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2012 · 136 posts · 83 votes

It's funny, but it seems over time that property managers seem to forget who hired them. It's as if they feel that the tenant is paying them. While maybe they are--albeit indirectly... I've found that some managers' visions become very myopic when it comes to what are reasonable requests and what are not. Their only goal becomes pacifying tenants.

I recently had to fire a property manager and hire a new one after I began getting so many absurd emails and queries that I had to stop it. First a manager informed me that I needed to purchase a larger refrigerator or the tenant was sure to move out. Then it was that if I had a property appraisal conducted without 5 days' notice, a tenant would get upset and move out. They seem to begin walking on eggshells with tenants over time... which, in my experience, almost always leads to 1.) absurd requests and 2.) decreased leverage on the part of the landlord (which can often be disastrous and costly.)

After the manager (who manages 500+ units) told me that my tenants had more rights than I in terms of my property, I had to hire someone else. I couldn't deal with it anymore... I'm sure next I would have gotten a frantic email demanding that I buy new clothes and/or provide Wal-Mart gift cards for tenants because I failed to provide a washer and dryer. The next tenant would clog the toilet and then demand that I be on the hook to repair the plumbing because of my failure to provide housing within close proximity to healthy food.

Have you ever had something similar happen with your manager(s)?

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Bedford, NH · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y

Part of their job is to tell you what the tenants are thinking, and part of their job is to save you from yourself.

Don't you want to know that all that it will take to avoid a vacancy and turnover costs is a larger fridge? Or would you rather just have the place empty and never know why?

And sometimes landlards dig in their heels over what they think is reasonable, and property managers have to tell you what the market realities are.

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  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    12y

    I have this problem with the late fee phenomenon. Ok so the tenants is supposed to pay the rent on the 1st and I am getting rent from the PM on the 15th and I say hey you guys take too long to send the rent. They in turn say the tenants take that long to pay. Hello , if that is the case where are the late fees from the tenants? Well you have to work with them sometimes they are just kids.. (college students). No, you don't ... you have to tell them the rent is due on the 1st if you pay it late you pay a late fee.

    The best one is when they send someone to do a repair assuming the tenant needs that urgent repair because the tenant says so. Well you do any troubleshooting like check the on switch or thermostat first?

  • Real Estate Investor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2012 · 136 posts · 83 votes
    12y

    @Colleen F. I have had these problems too. The last straw for me was when they complained that there was serious floor damage and the tenant demanded a new floor because of a safety hazard. After I drove to the house with my truck loaded up with supplies to repair a floor and wasted a ton of money on gas, I find that a few peel and stick tiles had been damaged by the tenant. He of course wanted a new floor... and they were just parroting what he'd said.

  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    12y

    @Ben Stout it is a pain when that happens so did she get a new floor? Sometimes the attitude is you have to do anything about whatever the tenant says. I had a PM call me that the fan doesn't work. I am glad I went myself because they weren't using the right switch...

    wonder about how you deal with this long distance. Now I can check things out but if you are not there you need to

  • Real Estate Investor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2012 · 136 posts · 83 votes
    12y

    She sure did. I replaced it because I'd already driven so far and already bought all the supplies. Needless to say, I was not happy. I don't like setting bad precedents, but feel like I was kind of given no choice.

    Being a long-distance landlord is definitely not for the faint of heart!

  • Property Manager · Livonia, MI · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    i manage them myself. i avoid all this issues..

  • Bedford, NH · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    Part of their job is to tell you what the tenants are thinking, and part of their job is to save you from yourself.

    Don't you want to know that all that it will take to avoid a vacancy and turnover costs is a larger fridge? Or would you rather just have the place empty and never know why?

    And sometimes landlards dig in their heels over what they think is reasonable, and property managers have to tell you what the market realities are.

  • Real Estate Investor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2012 · 136 posts · 83 votes
    12y

    @Richard C. If the person is renewing a lease, sure. If it's the middle of the lease and they moved in with a certain size fridge, that's the deal. I don't change horses mid-stream and tiptoe through the tulips.

  • Professional · Yona, Guam · Member since 2014 · 62 posts · 30 votes
    12y

    Good choice to fire them and move on. When a PM starts to cater to the tenant they are just greasing the squeaky wheel. I have found these PMs don't have an owner mentality. And they usually have not, or don't own properties themselves. Good PM makes a huge difference. I have 0 tolerance for bad or even mediocre PM. Fire and move on. Use the best.

  • Real Estate Investor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2012 · 136 posts · 83 votes
    12y

    @Account Closed I have to agree with you Clint. The longer I've let it go on, the worse it's tended to get in the past. I've had a property manager end up costing me thousands and thousands of dollars in lost rent and property damage simply by failing to do their job and trying to take the easy route.

  • Real Estate Agent · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    We've found that if we schedule a weekend and go inspect the properties ourselves (with at least a week notice to the tenants as we have to schedule the trip that far out, anyway) once a year or so, a lot of the little stupid items that used to drive us nuts just go away. One long-term tenant actually waits for our inspection and places post-its all over the house (this door has loose hinge, this fan wobbles, etc.), which we find funny but appreciate as it saves us separate stupid trips charged by the PM's handyman. While our PMs are more likely to pass tenant damage repair costs onto us versus confronting the tenant, over the years it's so far only been little items, so we try not to get too frustrated about it and chalk it up to out-of-state owner costs.

  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    12y

    @Richard C. part of their job is not to save me from myself but to give me the information I need to rent the place and make decisions It is my choice to act on it or not. So for example if there was a rental analysis they made on price and recommend lowering ok but if they just randomly decide something is a good idea or bring every tenant complaint without any screening/ troubleshooting that is not good. To me when you manage something you are not just an amplifier for whatever noise is coming your way. There are two definitions of manage= cope with / get by OR manage= administer/run. I am hiring someone to do the later.

    @Lynn McGeein I like that personal inspection idea. For us it would tag on nicely with the fire inspection the town requires. I am having to consider not being as involved since we may have a temporary re-assignment out of the area. Right now we do our own inspections and handle the security deposits even with the PM. I would not even have a PM but that is the RI out of state landlord law. I may need a different one with an out of area assignment.

  • Real Estate Agent · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    @Colleen F. Off topic, but thought it funny that you might have a temporary assignment out of the area, while we might be temporarily moving to RI (Newport, although my brother's family lived in Narraganset until 4 years ago so visited there frequently) for about a year for my husband's work. As soon as we find out for sure, I'll be scheduling my property inspections and getting them done before we go as RI would be over 10 hour drive from the nearest one.

  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    12y

    @Lynn McGeein that doesn't sound like a bad assignment unfortunately we are not so lucky ours would be 2 years in Minnesota....

  • Real Estate Investor · Tulsa, OK · Member since 2013 · 31 posts · 20 votes
    12y

    I find that with both tenants and PMs, they either train you or you train them. Therefore, I choose to train them. I make my expectations very clear from the beginning and do not waiver from them. If the tenant or the PM does not like it then they can leave. In the beginning there is usually a little push back, like a child testing their parent's boundaries. If this causes turnover, so be it. I have had some turn over on properties but eventually I find the right tenant and now most of my properties have multi-year tenants with little problems. If the tenant starts to forget, I rattle their chain a little and they usually line out. If not, it is time to start looking for a new tenant. In the beginning, I had a little grumbling from my PM because the tenant would not like it or they would leave but I found it was mostly because it was more work for him and he did not to do it. However, I explained that I did not care if the tenant did not like it or if the tenant left and if he did not do what I asked, I would find someone that would. It is a little bit of work on the frontend but at some point the tenant, the PM and myself are all be on the same page and this has made all the difference in my investments.

    Good Luck!

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