No this is not a success story. But it could be..

[Achi Adamit]

Here's my story:

If you read the entire thing, thank you in advance :)

My father, in his late 50's and with no prior real estate experience, began investing in local multifamily properties in Binghamton, NY where he lived.  Over the course of 12 years he amassed 7 properties consisting of a total of 35 units and has made a decent retirement out of it; he mowed the lawns, fixed things himself, all while holding other jobs.  Last year he retired and moved out of the country and tasked me with overseeing the properties, while the maintenance guy-turned-property-manager was to manage the properties locally.  I live 2.5 hrs away in NJ, and it was only natural since I manage large office buildings in Manhattan.  I learned quickly that I am no match for low-income housing 2.5 hours away especially since the manager was not great nor tech savvy which affected communication.  Sadly, two months ago he died unexpectedly, leaving me with an absolute mess, which I will expand on below .  Things were fine leading up to his death, but clearly only the bare minimum was done while other things were ignored, and now we are paying gravely.

Up until the property manager's death we were fully rented with the exception of one unit which he neglected to rent out and was vacant for over a year.  This happens to be a nicer unit in a decent neighborhood which I am hoping to get a lease signed for within the next few days.  One tenant died, and her neighbor (who happens to be a messy, terrible tenant) somehow had possession of the keys and handed them to a girl claiming she is the decedents niece. I called BS on that and quickly had the locks changed.  However I'm uncertain as to what to do with all the stuff that is in the apartment.  I went online and found her obituary and plans to obtain proof so that I can contact her family to have them grab the stuff.  Another tenant's girlfriend was involved in a hit and run and succumbed to her wounds days later; this particular tenant's government subsidy has just ended and he has no money to pay rent, but I'm sure evicting him will be a challenge especially since he just lost his partner.  Another tenant in a historically solid-return building but in a terrible neighborhood is a Section 8 tenant but is apparently involved in a gang (bloods or crips) and is causing other neighbors to leave.  Another tenant, neighbor and also a receiver of government subsidy, I am told has handed her keys 6 months ago to some partying teenagers who have holed up inside.  I cannot contact this tenant for the life of me and have placed notes on her door to contact me asap.  Finally the interim manager I found placed a note for her to call me within 24 hours or the police will have break down their door in an emergency-basis (the water bill was almost 4x as high but there are no obvious leaks and the cause is not obvious).  As I wrote the manager called me saying a young girl opened the door and will call me ASAP -- well, that worked!  Two tenants vacated, while another three tenants have provided official notice that they are moving, but I managed to convince two of them to stay and to take care of whatever concerns they had.  

List goes on...(roof leaks, etc., general maintenance issues, need new appliances in vacant units)

Currently I have 6 vacancies not including the one that is leaving next month.  But even with all of this I'm confident with the right local management company and constant oversight I will bring it back together again.  I am prepared to spend the money on the right apartments where I can fetch higher quality tenants.  On the ones in the really bad neighborhoods, I will just screen more aggressively.

This post was general venting, but most importantly it was also to gain support, advice and strength from people with experience who have been through this before.

Thanks!

[Deanna McCormick]

Your dad handed you the reins a year ago.... your technically not a NEWBY by a long shot anymore.. 

It's not a scolding you need it's a sharp maintenance tech, a good knowledge of the landlord tenant laws in your state, and swift action to get the lemons out and take back your buildings. 

Arm up, hire someone, hire maybe 2 or 3 someones to inspect each unit, get a maintenance schedule done on neglected things and start on the top floor in each building and work your way down out the door.  Pretend you just bought them and you have 60 day deadline with a punch list to get done. one For maintenance and one for the tenants, decide who stays and who's out the door. 

Better to be vacant than filled with riff raff..