Property Manager messy breakup

[Brian Horwitz]

I have had a property manager taking care of my properties for the last 6 years. I have 25 SFHs and one person handled everything. Unfortunatley as I grew and learned, I realized she wasn't doing a great job. Homes were left in poor condition, repairs weren't done right, and tenant phone calls were being ignored. On top of that, late fees were being pocketed without giving me anything. I Decided to move on from this manager 2.5 months ago. After giving her 30 days notice, I took over the management of my properties. Everything is now going great. Unfortunatley, she is withholding over $4,000 in rent money she collected for me. What are my options to recover these funds? I realize getting the money may not happen but I want to make her squirm on principle. I was thinking a small claims suit and a report to the real estate board so this person stops collecting money for people. My main goal is to stop her from operation so other people don't get taken. Thanks for reading

Brian

[Nathan Gesner]

I would take the following steps:

1. Written notice demanding return of the funds within 14 days. Send by certified mail and send it to the Broker, not the agent. If the agent is the broker (meaning she owns the company) then send it to her.

2. If no response, contact the state board and tell them you want to file an ethics complaint. They will usually talk to you first, then talk to the agent and see if they can get the issue resolved before it goes to complaint. If the agent is even partially at fault, this will usually motivate them to find a solution before being investigated and possibly uncovering even more problems.

3. If that doesn't fix it, file the ethics complaint and file in Small Claims Court at the same time. If you file an ethics complaint, review the code of ethics and hit her with every possible violation. Odds are she has failed in far more than just one area.

Good luck.