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Updated almost 7 years ago, 02/18/2018
Milwaukee - REIS Property Management- thoughts?
Hi all,
I received a recommendation for the Milwaukee property management company REIS Property Management. Their website and services seem pretty decent. Does anyone have any experience with them in regard to managing single families, duplexes, 8-unit plus apartments? I'm looking to manage some new acquisitions, as well as eventually consolidate some other properties under a single management company. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to post publicly.
Thanks,
Dan
Daniel Hanson would you be so kind as to share what questions you ask to vet a PM?
I don't have a specific question by question checklist, but I get a phone conversation with them and see how well we would work together. During the phone call I'm trying to gage their motivation vs. my goals. I will also try to figure out how large their internal office staff/ contractor team is, and what is their capability to take on new properties. Also looking to see their reaction to certain parts of Milwaukee county where I hold my rentals- some PM's prefer specific parts of town- takes a different management style depending on the tenant base. Also geographically how close they are to the property for responsiveness- for my Waukesha-based properties I prefer a Waukesha PM for example.
My goals for a PM are as follows:
Properties will be managed and maintained by professional property managers, who provide these services: lease-up/ screening, collections, direct deposit to my bank, quick tenant response, maintenance (billed separately), < 24 hour response to owner, escrow for security deposits, tenant community communications, inspections, late notices, final walkthroughs, and eviction support (billed separately) for 8% to 10% of monthly rents. Set up systems to operate passively.
I'm also wanting to see a sample of their management contract and leases. Don't want to pay a fee if we need to part ways, that's a red flag. I want phone numbers from 3 of their current owners that are being managed. New tenant lease-up fee should be reasonable, and things like a 6-month or 12-month eviction guarantee are a plus. I will also CCAP (Wisconsin circuit court database) their name and company name, along with the name of the 3 owners recommended, to see how frequently they are involved in eviction court cases or other property-related issues.
Daniel Hanson that is a huge help! Thank you so much for taking the time to share!
Glad I could help. Here's one more I recently came across that I really like: It's a plus if PM has ability to proactively suggest ways to add to total rents collected, for instance by adding units, suggesting a rehab to allow for higher rents, etc. You both win in this case.
Yeah, we just did this for an investor. We manage his 6-unit building. He is a big time investor from out of state. We know what the really nice units in that complex can earn, $1,100/month, but his average $800. So, have been accumulating contractor quotes. They are coming in around $20k, which is a lot to spend on a 2-bedroom condo, but, when you divide the $300 increase in rent by the investment, it's 16% ROI.
He has not responded yet, so it will be interesting to see if 16% is even considered a good ROI in his world. I meet people who don't even look at decisions that don't exceed 20% ROI.
@Shawn Ackerman not yet but soon....thanks for the follow up!
Originally posted by @Michelle Ayala:
Hi Daniel -
... recently had a meeting with Matt at REIS and have decided to switch over to them... I will be able to provide more info on how the transition went and on their actual services after March.
Would love to hear how it's going!
@Daniel Hanson great information! I will be in the Milwaukee area the first week of October to meet with prospective PMs, and to perform some due diligence on neighborhoods where I want to invest. Have you settled on a PM yet, and if so, are you satisfied with the results thus far?
Does anyone else have a recommendation for a PM more local to the Racine/Kenosha area that they have personally worked with?
@Brant Jones once you settle on a neighborhood please let me know. We can recommend a PM that works on our portfolio as well as our investors. Best of luck to you. Always remember to persist and you will WIN!!!
Originally posted by @Michelle Ayala:
Hi Daniel -
We have been using a different company for a while and just recently had a meeting with Matt at REIS and have decided to switch over to them. We will be paying slightly more than we were paying before but not more that the average fee other companies charge. Matt is very professional, answered all our questions and provided lots of information. What was specially attractive to us was that for any service call you get the first hour of labor for free and also they guarantee their tenants, so if there was to be an eviction you wouldn't have to pay extra for the eviction and they would take care of it.
I will be able to provide more info on how the transition went and on their actual services after March. Good luck in your search for a PM company.
Originally posted by @Brant Jones:
@Daniel Hanson great information! I will be in the Milwaukee area the first week of October to meet with prospective PMs, and to perform some due diligence on neighborhoods where I want to invest. Have you settled on a PM yet, and if so, are you satisfied with the results thus far?
Does anyone else have a recommendation for a PM more local to the Racine/Kenosha area that they have personally worked with?