All Forum Posts by: Christopher Davis

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Quote from @Christopher Davis:

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Are you hiring her to do property management, or to lease the property?

Property management will not be a standardized form. It's something a company would have drafted with their attorney. If they don't have this....they are probably not actual in the business of managing property.

Well I think both right? I am hiring her to place a new tenant and manage the rental through the duration of the lease. Up to now she has overseen some repairs but has also not provided photos or receipts, I have asked her at least three times.

 Is she licensed to provide property management in whatever state it is? In most states a real estate salesperson can't manage property. Brokers or a seperate PM license is required. (I have no idea if she's a broker or not). Then there is a few states that do not require any license to manage, such as Maryland.

Quick research tells me a property manager is required to have a brokers' license. Is a broker's license the same as a broker associate/affiliate? Or is a broker license a higher level license? I have looked up her record and she has an "Affiliate Broker" license.

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Are you hiring her to do property management, or to lease the property?

Property management will not be a standardized form. It's something a company would have drafted with their attorney. If they don't have this....they are probably not actual in the business of managing property.

Well I think both right? I am hiring her to place a new tenant and manage the rental through the duration of the lease. Up to now she has overseen some repairs but has also not provided photos or receipts, I have asked her at least three times.

Quote from @Bradley Buxton:

@Christopher Davis

Find a new property manager.  If they don't know what the agreement needs to be to protect your and your asset then they are unprofessional or don't know what they are doing. Grey areas are not a place you want to be in real estate.  While this is difficult while managing out of the country it will be worthwhile of any legal issues with the manager or the tenant arise. Don't settle if you're not comfortable with a transaction. 

I would agree with this. Trying to navigate a somewhat bumpy situation and find a competent manager. I have replied to her that I will not sign the Agency Status doc she has sent. I sent her a copy of the agreement from the previous manager for her reference and also a couple links to generically create one online. I am baffled since we spent so much time together purchasing the property in the first place. 
My instincts indeed are to end this relationship and hire some other PM company fresh. I will review her response. Thank you for the comments. If you have any PM recommendations in Nasvhille, duly appreciated. 

I am in a fluid situation and may need to replace my current property manager somewhat urgently. I am looking to consult with and possibly hire a very professional property manager in Nashville, TN. Looking for contacts and recommendations. 3 bdrm single family house in Bordeaux. 

Property manager should protect my investment. Should have efficient roster of handymen. Should be able to enforce strict policies to tenant on property upkeep and no pets for example. Manager should be able to list and place a good tenant efficiently. Should be able to oversee repairs efficiently by seeking reasonable quotes and comparing and advising as needed.  

Thank you for any advice or contacts provided.

Regards,

Chris 

Hello, Need advice.

I had my property in Nashville rented for three years with a particular agent. We didn't have great chemistry, so when the lease ended and came time for a new tenant, we parted ways. I re-hired the agent who helped my buy the property originally. With her we had good rapport, although it was a bumpy experience. She has a lot of hustle and talks a great game about protecting my investment, streamlining procedures, etc. 

Currently, she has overseen repairs and we are now trying to place a new tenant.

However, we have not yet signed any property management agreement. I asked her to provide this document so we could agree on terms and sign and move forward. She instead sent me a sales contract, with "SALES" struck out (annotated) and replaced with "RENT." The document had absolutely nothing to do with property management. It was a sales contract with, after 9 legal pages of irrelevant information, had a couple sentences added about her commission.

I rejected the document, and asked her to provide me with a Property Management Agreement.

She then sent me a "Confirmation of Agency Status" one page contract. Again, a document of her representing me in a Sale. It again had absolutely no information on property management. Even less than the first document.

My requests are not getting through to her for some reason. I am traveling out of the country at the moment and we are communicating via email.

She claims to have done this many times before but seems to have no clue what I am asking for. I will not sign any document like she has sent, I want a proper property management agreement that outlines all terms, correctly, for both our protection and clarity.

What should I do? Am I being too strict? Is this a major red flag of her professionalism? I am totally baffled and very concerned.  

Please I need some professional advice. Thank you very much.

Chris

 

I don't have a broad opinion as an experienced professional, but as someone with one investment house who will likely sell in the next 2-5 years, I have one thing on my mind. Commissions. My goal is to reduce my commission payout as much as possible. From reading here it sounds like the buyers and their agent will have a rocky road ahead for a few years until new standards are set in place. But as a seller I am hoping my commission will go from 6% to 3%. Is that a likely result for sellers? It seems like that's the direction this goes. I know that also means sale prices may go down, but I am less worried about that in a good market.

Quote from @Bjorn Ahlblad:

Generally we do not show properties that are occupied and not ready to go. Nor do we show to candidates who have not been prescreened. The last thing you want is to rent a property that is not vacant then you are into hotels etc. I'd be inclined to follow your PM's guidance in this instance but stay on top of things.

 Ok I understand, thanks very much. 

I'm kind of a new landlord. I have a tenant moving out in about a month. (3bdrm house, Nashville.) I asked my property manager when she could start marketing the property for a new tenant. My assumption was that she could start showing it asap (while it is still occupied), to reduce the potential vacancy time. She told me she would start showing it when it is vacant and clean and ready. So then who knows when it will rent. It would be at least a month and likely two-three months. 

Question is, is this standard? To wait until it is vacant to even start showing it or advertising it? For three months I'll be out 6k in mortgage. I don't know what is standard and if I just eat my lumps and that's how it is. Or am I being pushed around? Should I firmly tell her what to do or just let her decide and go with the flow?

Thanks for any guidance. 

Quote from @David Goodman:

Ideally she is able to communicate with you better, however I don't think I would create an issue. Property managers have no problem dropping clients who don't bring multiple units, so trying to assert yourself in this situation could back fire. The bar is low for property managers. I'd be concerned that whoever replaced this current manager will be worse. You have a tenant. Your tenant wants to stay. Deal with a problem when there is a problem in my opinion.

Thanks very much David. Talking me off the ledge. I'm going to not get worked up any more about it, because this situation is definitely building and stressing me out. I'm antsy because I have had similar problems of communications and performance with the builder of this property. And this feels like a similar run around. I'm just trying to protect myself by having the security of a 12 mo lease in place. I am aware that I am not a high revenue client for her, but this is the work she agreed to: manage the property. No matter who you are though, if you say you are going to do something, as a professional you do it. I really don't like the South or the way they work.  

Quote from @JD Martin:

 Question: why renew the lease at all? If you have language in your lease that just converts it to a month to month, why not just do that? That of course doesn't answer the question about the PM but there's no real advantage for you in locking yourself into another fixed lease if you can just let the current one ride, especially if you've baked in a method for rent increase.

As for the PM, as much as I don't like non-communication either I get the same feeling as @Nathan Gesner - you come across as pushy or needy and your personalities just don't jive. Are you from up north? Your bio says Nashville but are you originally from there, and where is the property? I ask because I grew up 10 miles from NYC and I have lived and invested 30 years in the South and there is a definite cultural divide between the two. I look at inaction as laziness and ineptitude, southerners look at it as "there's no rush and we'll get there eventually". Since I live here, and invest here, I have had to temper my own instincts to fit the area instead of the other way around. People here are not hustlers. It's been a blessing, because my own kick-*** hustle has allowed me to thrive in a crowd of slackers, but I also depend on that same mentality to get rehabs done, clean houses, show properties, and the like. It's just the way it is, and there's no point in me getting mad about it because the culture doesn't match my own. 

Thanks for the comments JD. Funny you mention the North/South thing. I am from Connecticut. The house is in Nashville, though I no longer live there (I will update). I am not an aggressive hustler myself, but I totally agree with what you are saying about the culture difference. That is certainly a part of it. However, I am not being pushy or needy in the slightest. I just think basic professional service: communication, informing the owner what's going on with their property, and the manager executing a task when she says she is going to - are all reasonable expectations. That may be too much for people from the South though, because this is not the first time. I am not an experienced veteran property owner who can treat things so casually. I like professional, organized service. 

As for the lease, maybe I am not fully understanding the pros and cons of a month-to-month lease? Doesn't that protect the tenant more than the owner? Why would I want to do that when they could literally move out any time? Having a 12 mo lease in place means I don't have to worry about a vacant property and finding a new tenant for at least a year. is there something else am I missing?

I replied to her last email three days ago with these questions and she has not responded.