Need Property Manager with PBS8 experience, any leads?

Question

We are acquiring a property just outside of Austin, 24 units, all 2-3 bedrooms under a PBS8 contract. Does anyone know of any Property Managers that may be interested, they have to of had previous PBS8 experience. Any leads would be helpful, the only PM's with this kind of experience are wanting 100+ doors.

Phillip Austin · Answer

@Suzanne Chan Go to the NARPM website for the local Austin chapter to find the most qualified and reputable PM companies in the area. Start by contacting folks on their leadership team. Chances are you'll find who you're looking for and if not, they'll know good referrals.

Suzanne Chan · Answer

This is a totally different kind of management company I am looking for, mainly we need them to handle the compliance part. The vetting of the Company and it's operations/renewals and fees I am very comfortable vetting. I am looking for someone with PBS8 experience and that is something a very small amount of PM's are able to handle as it's a very large amount of compliance. This is not the same as normal voucher housing or even normal Section 8.

Drew Sygit · Answer

@Suzanne Chan

Even if someone gives you a referral, what meets their expectations, may not meet yours.

In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.

It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so the price is the only differentiator.

So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.

EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean? What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.? You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

We have a 14-page management contract that we've added our real experiences to over the years, with the intent of protecting both us AND the landlord. Beyond the Monthly Management, Placement & Maintenance fees, all other fees in our contract are IF EVENT -> THEN fees.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processes

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

P.S. If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general. Take ownership of your mistake and learn to do the proper due diligence recommended above😊

Please send us any feedback via email, as we do not use the DM feature here.

Suzanne Chan · Answer

Hi Brandon, thank you for your response, yes it's a really specialized kind of management with a lot of compliance. Do you know of anyone in the Austin area by chance that does this? As well, did you have any referrals for a HUD consultant and someone that does CLA's, we have some quotes but wanted to explore some options. The HUD transfer seems to be the most time consuming process.

Brandon Sturgill · Answer

@Suzanne Chan...we manage in Ohio with a decent chuck of our management portfolio being project based/ HCV (160 units)...it's a specialty field, so good call to seek out some guidance for the best property management company.

Best of luck going forward