Anyone have experience with Nomad?

[Kelly Rao]

Hi, has anyone has experiences with Nomad? I see they offer leasing and guaranteed rent as well as overall property management. Wondering if folks have used this service and liked it. The idea of guaranteeing rent regardless of vacancy is super appealing!

[Greg Weik]

Hi @Kelly Rao, we compete with Nomad in the Denver property management market, so I'm familiar with their business model. 

The short version is this:  If you're willing to pay (considerably) more for the security of guaranteed rent, they are probably worth hiring. Just keep in mind you are paying a significant premium for that peace of mind. 

My personal opinion is that a competent Property Management Company (PMC) will not need any gimmicks.  A competent PMC will simply rent your property to the best tenants -quickly- and they will charge a nominal fee to manage your investment property with competence. Your rent will roll in each month and you will be kept apprised of everything you want to know about (maintenance, renewals, etc.) 

There are a lot of gimmicks out there, such as eviction protection plans, free maintenance plans, etc. and Nomad is well aware that "guaranteed rent" sounds like a great selling point.  I tip my hat to their next-level gimmickry. 

The truth is, all rent is almost always entirely guaranteed.  A good PMC screens for and attracts the right tenants, for a much lower price. I say that as someone who has managed thousands of properties in a 15-year time frame.  It's exceptionally rare for rent to not be paid, especially to the point of having to file an eviction.  With Nomad, you're paying a lot of extra money for a guarantee that is not necessary with skilled and experienced property management combined with masterful recommendations for property condition; i.e. what a property needs in order to be rent-ready to the degree that qualified candidates will be attracted to rent the property. 

If it seems to be good to be true, it is. 

[Kelly Rao]

This is great perspective, thanks so much for the detailed reply! You make some good points. 

[Drew Sygit]

@Kelly Rao

@Greg Weik and I don't see eye-to-eye on much, but have to agree with him 100% on this one. 

Have seen several companies offer similar guarantees in Metro Detroit area - and they are all out of business now.

[Kelly Rao]

Thanks for your responses!

[April Mattin]

Did you end up using them? I'd be curious to know. I am currently using them and wanted a second opinion on their customer service with you. 

[Torrey De Armas]

@Greg Weik I think more expensive is dependent on rent amount since they charge a flat rate, right?  For example, if your place rents for $3500 (and lets assume 6% vacancy) Nomad charges 4% with a flat $1250 listing fee to take professional pictures and list it on 20 different sites for you that would cost $2697.60 for the year.  They help with repairs and vendor sourcing and have resident support agents.   Property Management team would do all that and charge 8-10%, which would be $3158.40-3948. 

I am asking because I am going through the same decision @Kelly Rao did and trying to figure out what would be the best way to go.  It seems from a numbers standpoint it would be cheaper.  Unless I am missing something?

@April Mattin How do you like their service so far?

[April Mattin]

So take this all with a grain of salt. I've been with them for over 2 years. And I would have highly recommended them up until September of last year when their company went through a major restructure. One that involved firing their entire field operations team, which I thought was key to their success. If you're new to them, you'll probably have a better experience. Because you won't know anything different. But I remember when they weren't so automated and you could actually call someone to talk through issues. 

This new structure has come with many many headaches for me, the prime one being there was absolutely zero communication with owners like me about the change. I called my field ops person one day to ask why a tenant wasn't given a key for move in day and was told he had no idea because he was let go during the restructure. And still almost 4 month since then, I have asked Nomad numerous times for anything that would help me understand the new tiers and how its different from previous division of responsibilities. 

I get things piecemeal here and there, like all of a sudden after 2 years I'm responsible for placing lockbox, surprise! I had to run out and buy new lockboxes to place in time for showings. And don't even get me started on utilities. They have an option to do a flat fee for utilities which I opted in on, and yet the automated system still sent out an email to tenants to get utilities in their name. Talk about unnecessary confusion for me and for the tenants to undo the mess. 

And I'm not sure where you're getting the 4% from. They charge me 7% for the basic guaranteed rent service (along with the listing fee) and then if they do manage any of the tenant work orders there is an additional fee on top of that because I only signed up at the lowest level where owners manage work orders. 

So again, if you sign up new with them you'll probably have a better experience. I'm getting annoyed all over again because I'm paying a higher percentage and getting way less service than I had before. They're all nice people at the company, I just think they're going through major growing pains and unfortunately old owners are feeling the brunt of it. 

[Greg Weik]

Quote from @Torrey De Armas:

@Greg Weik I think more expensive is dependent on rent amount since they charge a flat rate, right?  For example, if your place rents for $3500 (and lets assume 6% vacancy) Nomad charges 4% with a flat $1250 listing fee to take professional pictures and list it on 20 different sites for you that would cost $2697.60 for the year.  They help with repairs and vendor sourcing and have resident support agents.   Property Management team would do all that and charge 8-10%, which would be $3158.40-3948. 

I am asking because I am going through the same decision @Kelly Rao did and trying to figure out what would be the best way to go.  It seems from a numbers standpoint it would be cheaper.  Unless I am missing something?

@April Mattin How do you like their service so far?

 I find @April Mattin's experience eye-opening.  Our clients aren't involved with any part of property management.  Things like whether a tenant has a key on move day (we use digital door locks anyway) and having to buy lockboxes... these are things clients should not be burdened with. 

@Torrey De Armas, you have some premises in your post that don't add up.  $1250 "listing fee" to take photos and list a property is certainly not much of a value proposition if that's what's being charged.  Contrast that with our $500 leasing fee which is only paid to us after we've done the marketing, video tour, showings, found tenants and actually rented the property.  We also show properties in person, whereas I believe Nomad uses the "unattended showing" approach.

I can't speak for everyone, but my clients seem to really value the fact that RES handles everything for them.  There is no a-la-carte management with us.  We don't "help with repairs and vendor sourcing", and frankly I don't know what that means.  Part of the job of a PMC is to own every aspect of property management and to see things through. This includes finding and vetting vendors, following up on estimates and completed work, and making sure turnover is as quick and painless as possible.  

Also, our fee is 7% but capped at $149.  Most of our clients pay us $149 and they get full service management. 

Interestingly, in the past few years that I've been watching Nomad, their reviews have gone from a solid 5.0 on Google (mostly fake I assume) way down to a 4.2 now.  Recent reviews are packed with 1 star experiences with the company.  I take reviews with a grain of salt, but it looks to me like as I posted here a year ago, gimmicks are not a recipe for longevity in property management. 

[Torrey De Armas]

@April Mattin Thank you for your response! The information provided is greatly appreciated! I am in AZ and the 4% is what is on their website, but my buddy is using them in Denver and he said it was 4% as well.  

@Greg Weik I appreciate the response, and all your input! Not really sure what doesn't add up? I was just listing points on their website, as these are not my premises.  Also, my buddy recommended them to me because he uses them and said the process has been pretty easy so far, and all the points I listed were based on his confirmations.  I don't see the $1250 as a value prop, I know it's just their way to make a higher overall % of management on the property, but it's something I didn't mind paying because it would be streamlined to help get a renter in.  I am not sure about the unattended showings, but as far as I know they were at the property showings for my buddy.
Also, I don't see Nomad as a full service property management I see it more as an in between where someone wants to try to self manage a property with a little help being able to use their platforms and streamline things like leasing and customer portal for a smaller fee than a full service would charge.  However, the $500 leasing fee and $149/month you charge as a full service fee it would make way more sense to use you guys!  As I mentioned to April, I am in Phoenix, AZ, and the few places I have called about full service were in the 8-10% range and didn't have a capped amount. Do you happen to do work in Phoenix or have a solid contact that does?  Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Na Monke]

Be sure to do your own due diligence. Greg works for a competitor and the company has 2 stars on Yelp. https://www.yelp.com/biz/real-...

[Britney Strout]

Quote from @April Mattin:

Did you end up using them? I'd be curious to know. I am currently using them and wanted a second opinion on their customer service with you. 

We use them for a Denver property and the honeymoon phase is over for us. They brought in awful tenants that turned our property into a party house and caused thousands in damages. Then when we showed them the extensive damages the said let us know when it’s rent ready again and will not pay the “guaranteed” rent. We would have been better off discounting the rent 7% and finding tenants that would respect our property and rent year after year. 

[Yuwen Wang]

Quote from @Britney Strout:

Quote from @April Mattin:

Did you end up using them? I'd be curious to know. I am currently using them and wanted a second opinion on their customer service with you. 

We use them for a Denver property and the honeymoon phase is over for us. They brought in awful tenants that turned our property into a party house and caused thousands in damages. Then when we showed them the extensive damages the said let us know when it’s rent ready again and will not pay the “guaranteed” rent. We would have been better off discounting the rent 7% and finding tenants that would respect our property and rent year after year. 

Nomad offers $500,000 of rental property protection.  Were you able to use that to help cover for damages to your rental home?

[C Fraser]

Quote from @April Mattin:

Did you end up using them? I'd be curious to know. I am currently using them and wanted a second opinion on their customer service with you. 

Hi April, I have read the 1st two of these responses.  After covid I have to disagree that most rent is paid. In fact I think truancy is a real concern. 3% of rent which if it was $2000/month or $24k/year, a fee of $60 or $600 would not be a premium, rather a deep discount from the STR fees or PM fees I hear coming from Bullhead City, AZ or LA, where they range anywhere from 10% on up.

April did you use Nomad after all?  If so, what has your experience been as I'm at the start of our association with their services. Thanks!

[April Mattin]

So, I was able to renegotiate to the 4% fee instead of the 7% I was on. So I still use them for a few of my properties. I don't know if you're able to choose if you want to have assisted or unassisted showings. They do have a monthly fee that tenants now pay to have tenant insurance and a couple other benefits. They will cover rent if the tenant breaks lease or doesn't pay, however they won't pay the rent for in between tenants, so if they can't find someone for 2-3 months that's on you. They also refuse to overlap tenants, IE won't do showings in the tenant's last month so you're pretty much guaranteed to have at least 1 month gap. The communication piece is still VERY much hit or miss. I don't use their handyman service unless I absolutely have to as I feel like that's hit or miss as well. But that part is good to have as an emergency back up system. Especially if I'm out of town. Just like any other service it has it's pros and cons. Oh and they still do offer the more full service program at a higher percentage. My biggest complaint for the most part now is that they don't seem to work that hard at finding new tenants, and they make it more difficult than it has to be for tenants to renew. Not sure if that helps you at all. 

[Pranay Dua]

@April Mattin i am seriously considering them for my rental properties in LA. I am trying to compare them with Ziprent. Ziprent doesnt offer much except their low monthly fees. I would really appreciate if you can share your present experience with Nomad Lease. Also if you can share a referral link as they offer $500 to both the parties involved. I would really appreciate if you can respond. I have one condo and one SFH coming up for rent in LA

[Larissa Senna]

I'm also in the same boat - trying to see if Nomad is a good option for me. I have two doors in the Dallas area. I tried to find a qualified tenant around May for about a month, I had everything in place (application, rental criteria, lease agreement, background check co., tours, etc) however, many applicants had evictions and poor credit history (low credit score doesn't bother me, but when you have 7-10 credit card and personal loans in default, it's a serious red flag.) The process was frustrating and exhausting, so mid-June I decided to do Airbnb because my units were vacant. I have been doing fairly well, taking in consideration the little time I'm on it, but it's a lot of work. I have to screen (chat with them) every new guest to make sure they have good reviews and the real purpose of their trip. There's also all the expenses w/ housecleaner and essentials for the house. I don't like the fact that you can't charge a deposit (even hotels charge $50/day as refundable deposit) and for all the work, I don't think it's worth it my time.

I would really appreciate feedback about Nomad services. I'm also going to look into Ziprent and a new one I've heard, Ownerrez. I would like to be somehow hands-on because based on my experience with property management companies, I do not like them, and I would not trust my units 100% with them. Here in Texas, the ones I had experience with, did not do much to maintain my properties. I want to be involved somehow, that's why I thought Nomad would be a good option because they give you thresholds to choose the level of involvement you can have. My husband is a general contractor so I'd def be using his company for handyman services, so I wouldn't need their vendors for that. I already have Smart locks installed, so I just really need help with finding good tenants and the initial screening/leasing process and responding to emergency calls/work orders.

Thanks

[Richard Baird]

From personal experience for the first time, dealing with no bad properties they are very incompetent at their job and handling business. These people are actually so incompetent that my landlord was talking to me about switching companies.