Hi all,
I just jumped into the world of Real Estate investing, and closed on my first home just over a week ago. I found a great house with recent renovations and a long term section 8 tenant paying good rent for reasonable cash flow. However, I am already having problems with the property management company I hired. The tenant had a clogged kitchen drain, and when she called in, was treated harshly by the person she talked to, told that the drain was "her fault," and if she wanted someone to come out, she would need to pay out of pocket. Totally unacceptable. I only found out because she called the previous landlord crying, and the previous landlord called me to talk about it.
I called the tenant to explain that I have every intention of treating her well, and that I will pay for all reasonable repairs. The tenant got a family member to fix it for $60, so I told her I would subtract that from her rent. The tenant has been there for almost three years, and I would love for her to stay there for a very long time. I am willing to pay somewhat higher repairs costs in order to make that happen and have her be treated well.
I told the same thing to my property management company. They said she spoke to one of their contracted maintenance companies since it was the weekend and that they no longer plan on doing business with that company. That is all fine and good, but I am now hesitant about them since there was already a problem just a week in. Their reviews on Google and Yelp are pretty mediocre with a number of 5 star reviews. But here's the thing: I looked up about 10 PM companies when I was researching, and they ALL have a number of bad reviews. Are all PM companies going to treat tenants like this? Does anyone have experience with any companies in the Phoenix area who treat tenants well? I'd be interested to hear what people who have been doing this way longer than me think about this.
Thanks!
