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Updated 6 months ago, 06/14/2024
Advice for dealing with property manager + tenants who broke lease
Hi all,
Very new to real estate, property managing, landlording, and all of the above.
I hired a local property manager because doing it myself was a bit too much with my full time job. My personal SFH built in 2019 has been on the rental market since Oct. 2023. I had a set of tenants who lived there until December 2023 and caused quite a bit of damage. The PM i hired took on my rental knowing the tenants were a bit difficult to deal with. When they left, there were ~$10k in damages. We kept the security deposit of $4100. My PM failed to let me know about the 21 day itemized rule, let alone initiate conversation with the the tenants for repairs and those tenants are refusing to pay anything past $4100 due to that technicality. In addition, after they moved out PM never went to view my property and did not send enough reinforcement to handle the project. After the first clean it did not look good at all. PM then sent cleaner out again to finish up and I was still very unhappy with the results. I asked PM to send a bigger cleaning crew vs 1 person as the house is 2600 and needed a good cleaning. The cleaner he sent used some type of cleaning solution that stained my bathroom tile and sink countertops. PM then covered cleaning costs as a remedy. Fast forward to end of Jan 2024, we find a new set of tenants who sign a 1 year lease but break the lease in May due to a family emergency. I was told they would be responsible for paying the rent until a new set of tenants are found but have yet to receive any payment for June. I gave enough time for the weekends and processing to see if anything deposited into my account but nothing. I reached out to my PM via phone monday 6/10, left a voicemail. Emailed on 6/11 to follow up + called via phone today and have yet to hear back. Instead of a voicemail I sent a text asking for any communication so I can plan accordingly. PM used to be very communicative and now nothing, which is very worrisome.
Considering our PM agreement, current vacancy & costs I might have to front out of pocket (have already paid the mortgage)
How do I even approach this situation? Ideally I would want PM to find a new tenant for me but this has been really frustrating to the point that I am considering moving back so I don't lose too much money or get into any legal trouble in the process.
Open to any ideas/suggestions Please and thank you!