Look at my PM statement and tell me if were being overcharge

[Par Attaran]

We hired a property manager Dec-1-2016. They rented out our completely rehabbed property Jan-1 to a Sec 8 tenant. We have never used Sec 8 before and were not familiar with Sec 8 inspections or requirements, but decided to give it a shot as our other properties are not Sec 8. 

Upon checking our recent statement I noticed around $1000+ in repairs 

Our Property Manager is currently looking into the charges. We are being told "Its normal for Sec 8 to require some repairs and or additional items/ad ons"     

Our Management agreement states "Management will obtain prior approval of Owner for any item or service in excess of $400, except for monthly or recurring expenses and emergency repairs"

We were only notified of these repairs until AFTER they were completed. 

Is this normal for Sec 8 inspections and repairs? Can our PM just randomly charge us for this stuff with out consulting us first since its a "requirement by Sec 8 and must be completed" 

Thanks for any help :) 

[Patti Robertson]

@Par Attaran - I'm a landlord, property manager, and do a lot of SEC 8.  These charges all look normal and reasonable to me.  I'm guessing you recently purchased and rehabbed this.  Often times when a property has sat vacant for a while the plumbing lines have to be snaked shortly after someone moves in.  $199 seems a little high unless it was an after hours/emergency charge, which it may have been if you only have one toilet.  SEC 8 requires screens and handrails, and really should should provide them for any tenant, so you should really consider that this was an accidental omission of your rehab. The GFI install corrected a code violation that was also a rehab omission and the charge for that was below the normal charge for an electrician to do the repair.  

The floodlights and blinds appear to be the only optional items to me, but there could be a reason the PM felt those to be necessary based on the location.

Check your PM agreement for the repair approval allowance. Normally there is a dollar limit they can approve without your permission.  Independently these probably all fall under that total.  Did you walk the property with the PM in the beginning?  I usually point out items that will need to be addressed so the owner can choose to take care of them before we take over.

Just curious - where is this building?  A rent of $695/month is really low so I'm sure it's not in CA where your profile says you live.

The good news is the SEC 8 rent will show up like clockwork and SEC 8 tenants generally stay in lease terms longer than non-SEC 8 tenants.  Good luck on your new rental!