My First Turnkey - Elite Invest, Chicago
Investor · Westlake Village, CA · Member since 2015 · 73 posts · 70 votes
My First Turnkey - Elite Invest, Chicago
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Investor · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 146 posts · 101 votes
10yI've purchased 2 properties through Elite. I liked the work they did on the rehab on the two properties I purchased, but in all four units, it took them a month or more to place tenants. My expectation was that the tenants would be in the property when we closed. And one unit has been vacant for 4 months now. When I asked about it, I was told to call back in a month and check on the status. I was disappointed that they weren't proactively sending me emails letting me know of the status, and expected me to put in the effort to contact them about it. The PM I have for my other multifamily unit is much more proactive with their communication.
Also, the projections they gave were high. I expected as much out of someone trying to sell a property. The 3 units that are rented ended up short of the rent projections they showed me. But with everything else I've experienced, I wouldn't recommend Elite as a PM.
61 Replies
- 9yMark AinleyBusiness MemberProperty Manager · Roselle, IL (Chicago Suburb) · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
@JR Hinds TV show has definitely been a great spotlight for GC. Look forward to seeing you when in town!
GC Realty & Development LLC4.61078 Reviews - Investor · Westlake Village, CA · Member since 2015 · 73 posts · 70 votes9y
Sorry for the delay - I am under contract for another building later this year.
- Investor · Takoma Park, MD · Member since 2016 · 2 posts · 1 vote9y
Hi all. I'm wondering if any Elite investors out there have had experiences with evictions. I have a tenant in one of my units who has been there for five months without paying and has arrears of over $7000. I've been really disappointed with the communication from Elite over this. It's as if I was their first ever landlord to have a problem tenant/eviction. A month ago they told me the tenant had left, but just today they say they have discovered he's still there. The communication on how the eviction/collections process works has been really unclear. When I bought my building last year I had no idea how tough it would be to get someone out of the apartment after they stop paying. Has anyone else had eviction experiences with Elite and have any advice on how to deal with them/avoid them in future? Thanks.
- Investor · Westlake Village, CA · Member since 2015 · 73 posts · 70 votes9y
That's really a long time - I had one guy that went 2 months without paying and they followed the script to give him notice, threaten eviction, etc. He ended up leaving with no notice, and it took another couple months to place a new tenant. So, I was out the $2500 or so from the guy who didn't pay, plus a few more months of no rent due to the vacancy, which probably puts it close to your loss amount. The difference is that yours isn't done growing - by the time they get your guy out it's going to be another 3 months if he's still there, and then another 2-3 to find a tenant.
I think you really just need to be on top of the PM - like calling every single day if necessary. I was definitely harassing them until they got it resolved, and they ultimately waived the finder fee for the replacement tenant (effectively treating the replacement like the original) as a gesture.
- Investor · Takoma Park, MD · Member since 2016 · 2 posts · 1 vote9y
Thanks David. The other thing I'm confused about is that this tenant was not getting subsidized by CHA like my other tenants. He was paying everything out of his own pocket, which clearly seems to raise a bigger risk of non-payment. I'm going to request that Elite only considers CHA-backed tenants in future.
- Carrboro, NC · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 4 votes8y
@JR Hinds, I'm having issues on the PM side as well. Have you explored any other PM companies?
- Carrboro, NC · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 4 votes8y
@Stuart Grudgings and @David Fitch i'm also having problems with communications and evictions (2 in one building). Elite is the only company I've worked with so I don't have anything to compare it to. Does calling every day get results? It sounds like it's worth a try.
dana
- Investor · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 146 posts · 101 votes8y
@Dana Yobst Yeah, I'm putting together a list of PMs I need to interview. Have you explored any others yet?
- Investor · Geyserville, CA · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 4 votes8y
I hope your experience turns out better than mine... here's where I am at with my first turnkey from Elite Invest:
I bought one 2-unit property from them in April of this year. They did not rehab it as described, and property management was negligent. They collected $4000 in rent between May and July, after which I fired Elite Rentals Chicago. They still haven't paid us a cent of that. We've been in communication about settling -- having them pay what they owe me in rent collected and also for what I've spent to fix the most neglectful parts of their unfinished rehab job. But the settlement agreement they would like me to sign would prevent me from writing this post, or talking about my experience with Elite at all. That may be why you don't see a lot of bad reviews here-- people who had a bad experience may have had to sign nondisparagement agreements just to get paid rent on their own properties! If this post disappears, you will know why.
Here's a copy of the complaints I submitted to the Better Business Bureau. One is for Elite Invest, LLC, the company that markets the real estate and oversees rehabs. The other is for Elite Rentals Chicago, LLC, the company that handles property management.
BBB Complaint: Elite Rentals Chicago, LLC
9/20/18
I hired Elite Rentals Chicago in April 2018 as part of my purchase of a turn-key investment property through their sister company, Elite Invest. Elite Rentals Chicago mismanaged tenants, withheld information, and most importantly, has still not paid me any of the rent or fees collected from tenants in my property.
Elite has very clear written guidelines about screening tenants, but did not follow them. They had a tenant move into my property in April or May without informing me, and without collecting a move-in fee. That tenant then caused damage to the property and moved out without paying. I've been requesting information about what happened with that tenant for nearly 5 months now, and have not received a straight answer from Elite.
There was then a long delay in placing tenants. A tenant moved into one unit on May 15, and Elite collected rent and a move-in fee at that time. A tenant moved into the other unit on June 15, and Elite collected rent and a move in fee on that date, too. In all, Elite collected a total of $4000 before I fired them as a management company, effective June 30, 2018. They have not paid me a cent of that money. After we subtract the $240 in management fees owed to Elite, and add the $1000 reserve money in my management account with Elite, plus the $208 of rent that Elite neglected to collect from one tenant with no explanation, Elite Rentals Chicago owes me $4968. This figure doesn't include damages caused by the unauthorized tenant that I have since paid for.
According to our management agreement, Elite had until July 30 to settle all accounts. They did not. Instead, Elite simply stopped responding to my emails until August 3, at which time they got in touch to settle this dispute and my dispute with their sister company. They offered a settlement that would have prevented me from talking about my experience. After a few attempts to work out the details, they have again stopped responding to emails as of September 4.
BBB Complaint: Elite Invest, LLC
9/20/18
I bought a 2-unit residential building through Elite Invest, LLC on March 30, 2018. Elite Invest advertises complete rehabs of all of their properties, and I toured several rehabbed properties in 2017, all of which looked very good. However, they did not actually complete the rehab on my property by the closing date, and mislead me into thinking that they had. They left several glaring, essential parts of the rehab unfinished. They also failed to rehab my property to their own written standards, and mislead me about what had been done. The property was technically purchased from an anonymous trust, but Elite Invest LLC handled all the sales and communications, as well as the rehab. I can only describe what they did as fraud.
Here are some of the most egregious problems with the property:
- The building was connected illegally to the electrical pole without installing meters, prompting the power company to threaten to cut off the power and fine us. We worked it out with the electric company, but it has cost me nearly $2000 to install meters and properly ground the electrical system.
- The property was never connect to natural gas, causing our tenants to live without hot water. It has cost me around $500 to credit tenants for that hardship, and more to connect the building to gas.
- The front steps were not finished to code, causing a tenant’s parent to fall. They threatened to sue me, and it will cost almost $1000 to fix the steps.
- Elite installed the locks that can be opened with the same key on both units, creating a totally unnecessary security risk for my tenants. It cost more than $400 to replace the locks.
- There have been several more problems with the rehab: a leaking roof, trash in the back yard, poorly installed tiles that broke within two months of a tenant moving in, plumbing that backed up and flooded the basement with sewage within two months, and more.
In all, it has cost me $4149 to repair these things so far, and new problems continue to present themselves.
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