All Forum Posts by: Michelle Martin

@Michael Smythe the repairs were never completed while the tenant was living there. The city shut down the property until I completed all violations. It took almost a year to get my occupancy permit again. I fired the PM and hired a much better one, which has been a breath of fresh air. In court, I produced text messages between myself and the tenant showing I was attempting to fix the issue, but since she said she was without heat for 3 months during the winter, it looked really bad. The PM was not subpoena to court. They are a husband and wife team operating under an LLC, so I assume it was easier to go after me (property owner).

To make a long story short. The tenant supposedly had complained for months to the property manager that the furnace was not working. The property manager brought it to my attention only once and I told him to fix it. I assumed he would fix it, so I didn't follow up until I received a violation notice from the city for the furnace. When I asked the PM, he said the tenant has been difficult when scheduling the repairs. He also stated the tenant changed the locks, so he was unable to access the property. I contacted the city, but the inspector wasn't very helpful. She stated "this is your property, so you need to fix the issue within 2 days or were shutting down the house." I received the tenant's contact information from the PM and found a plumber who was willing to go the same day. I scheduled an appointment with the tenant. The plumber was running late as he was in traffic from doing another repair. I notified the tenant that he would be a little late. I kept in communication with her via text messages until the plumber was 10min away. She said okay when told he'll be there shortly. When the plumber arrived, she was not there. I sent her a message asking if she was home, she said no she left because she was waiting too long and had to get her kids ready for bed. The plumber was willing to wait for her, but she refused to go back. The city was due to come in the morning for reinspection, and the plumber was willing to go back prior to the inspection, but the tenant wouldn't answer my messages when asked if she'll be home. When the inspector got to the property for reinspection, she said the tenant was home. I could’ve had a plumber there. Fast forward to a year later, I received a summons for small claims. The tenant was seeking $14k for security deposit and furniture that was left in the property. Of course I got an attorney. Prior to the hearing, the plantiff’s attorney produced text messages from my former PM that were unprofessional. The PM was basically being rude and said “well you shouldn’t have broken the furnace anyway.” I knew I was done. The commissioner ordered me to pay the plaintiff over $9k plus her attorney fees. Mind you, she used a legal aid attorney, so he didn’t cost her anything. I contemplated appealing it, but I figured I would go after the PM instead, which I plan to do. Anyone been in a similar situation?

@Michael Smythe Thank you for this information. They are denying everything. Thank goodness the majority of our communications were done via email, so I have a lot of proof to back my claims.

@Rebecca Knox Thanks for this info. PM sent

@Chris Seveney how can I find this information? This is a small business (husband and wife) that's not even registered as a property management company. It's an LLC for real estate services. That's why I'm looking to go after the Broker.

I am an out of state investor, so I relied on my ex-property manager to do their job, however they were gross negligent. I was left with an excessive water bill ($10k) at my 4-unit property as they failed to fix a water leak, which I complained about once I noticed a spike in the water bill. Once my new management company took over, they inspected the property and noticed the ceiling of one of units was caving in due to a leak from the upper floor. The tenant said she had been complaining for months. The tenant from the unit with the leak supposedly moved out because the leak issue was not being fixed. I was told from the ex-PM that she moved because she bought a home.

The ex-PM lied about doing $6k of rehab work at my duplex. They even sent pictures, but it was not of my property, which I found out once I switched management companies. In fact, there was no work done. At this same property, there is a house sitter that had a lot of police activity (domestic violence, weapons discharged, etc). I was sent a citation for this, so I told the ex-PM to get rid of that house sitter. They insisted the house sitter was a good person and that it was the neighbor's house that had police activity. Well the house sitter is still there and refusing to leave, so now I have to evict him. We also verified that he is the subject listed on the police reports.

There is a long list of other issues. I'm at a $30k+ loss due to this property manager's negligence. I would like to sue and also report the owner (licensed broker) to the state (Wisconsin). Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Looking for a reliable property manager to manage 2 multi-unit properties (3 unit and duplex).

@Cara Hobbs I'm in the same boat. Let me know if you found anyone who can do this.

@Mike A. How did this turn out? I'm dealing with a similar issue

@James Mcsweeney what did you end up doing? My current situation is similar. Not sure what to do.