4 Hard Lessons I Learned When Working With A Property Manager

[Paul Thompson]

4 Hard Lessons I Learned When Working With A Property Manager

Many of you know that I've been investing full-time for 6 years. However, I've experienced something I never had before over the last year, and it was a hard lesson to learn.

I had hired a property manager to take over a few of my properties, but I didn't do my full due diligence, and because of that, it was a horrible experience.

Here are some key takeaways that I learned:

1) Be cautious and thoroughly read contracts

- The contract between the property manager and I was a state contract. Typically, these are pretty balanced to protect both parties. In this case, It wasn't. It covered the property manager more. It was outlined with penalties on me, recourse, obligations on me, and if I chose to sell, they'd get a % of the sale.

2) Use an Attorney

- Here's where I'm kicking myself in the leg. I got comfortable. The property manager was a referral and someone I had known. This was on me for blindly trusting and allowing myself to get comfortable without using an attorney. So please, use an attorney at all times, regardless of the friendship or referrals.

3) Communication Is Important

- When taking on a property manager, ensure that they will communicate. That was a struggle with this particular property manager, and it affected things. I'd get notices from the city about the lawn not being mowed, or it would take weeks for them to get back to me.

4) Quality

- This is a tough one. The only thing I can relate this to is being at a restaurant. You're waiting on your water to be refilled, as your cup is sitting there empty. After quite some time, they come back, fill your cup up with no apology, and leave again. Then it happens again - your cup is sitting there empty again - and the only way you can get the waiter to notice is when you get squeaky wheeled. Quality isn't something you should be lax about, even if they are someone who was a referral or someone you had known previously.

So, my recommendation is to consider all of these steps when looking for a property manager. This is still business. #propertymanagement #realestate #property #investing #business #experience #quality #hiring #family #realestateinvesting #realestategoals