Welcome! I completely understand how hard it is to find the right property management when you buy in Toledo. I've seen so many investors from Australia, Spain, California and others be completely burned here by managers. Some of the situations on the houses so poor the houses ended boarded up and on the online auction sites just passing a bad deal on to the next unsuspecting investor. There is a lot of hype to bring in investors from out of the area here with low property costs and high returns but once you are sold a house then it doesn't perform for several reasons. The biggest is because the property management here is so poor. The second is because if you aren't working with someone who really knows what to look for in 100 year old houses you end up with a house that needs more work than you originally thought or you end up with a house that is high maintenance eating away your profits. The third, success here is about location, the areas that have high performing tenants.
I manage in the State of Michigan and in Toledo (do not do Detroit at all but have in the past). When I tell people how to look for a good property management company I tell them bigger is not always better unless they have the staffing and experience to handle it. Use a company that completely focuses on property management and not sales. A good company will help you build your portfolio with houses that are lower maintenance in good performing areas. High maintenance and high turn over properties do nothing but cost a manager time and money.
Everyone of us managers can hand over good references, no one is going to give you a name and number of a client that is unhappy. So here is how you find good management in Toledo. First, we have a system for tenants to put their rent in escrow if the manager is not properly taking care of the homes. You can contact the landlord department at the courthouse and ask them how many cases of escrow (name of property management company) has active and over the last year. Second, we have a public records for evictions. You can search the company to see how often they are in court evicting tenants from poor screening. If they have evictions every month you know screening is poor.
We have a tight nit contractor community also. Plumbing is one of our biggest issues here. The main source of 24 hour emergencies here is Rooter Pro. There are others also that if you google and just start calling you can ask them if they do work with or have worked with in the past (name of property management company) if they don't work with them then chances are it's because they don't pay their bills leaving the owners of properties at risk. I was shocked when I found out owners paid property managers for service here but the managers did not pay the actual contractors that did the work.
Another good indicator of a good company is how long the staff has been with them and how long they have been working with a contractor team. For us, we started in 2011 here and we have the same contractors and service providers that we began with.
The most important thing you can do when investing away from home is to come to the area and spend a couple days meeting the people you are going to be working with. Ask to see homes that are currently being worked on. Most of my owners come in before they buy properties and visit once a year. When they come we set up to do inspections on every house. Owners get a chance to see the finished product and meet tenants to hear any of their concerns. If they really do provide good service then they will be completely transparent with every aspect of what they do.
Finally to sum up my long winded reply, remember it is buyer beware when buying houses here. Don't think that there is no way to lose when spending 20 to 60 grand here. I have an investor that I took his properties on after a company from Spain sold him turn key houses and never checked the homes. Took the word of another owner selling a property that he said was completely rehabbed after a fire. He closed on it and two weeks later when they came into town found the unit still burnt up and needing over 100,000 in work and a city inspection for structure. He is now putting money into a legal battle while maintaining a burnt up home so the health department and code compliance won't press charges against him for not maintaining the home. It is a misdemeaner offense in Toledo if you do not take care of your vacant properties. The city will take you to court and get an order to tear the building down at your expense. If people are selling you property and recommending a property management company make sure you check them out and talk to as many managers as you can. Wholesalers, flippers, turn key providers just want to sell you a home. Invest slowly to begin with. Let one or two houses do well for you and be confident with your team here before you buy a portfolio of 20 houses.
Angela
