All Forum Posts by: Kaven L.

 Thanks Adam. I'll wait to see what the PM says. I agree it doesn't seem like they have my best interests in mind. The tenants are an entity client of the PM and the PM mentioned she rents 10+ homes to them and she loves renting to them. Seems like a conflict of interest. 

I emailed the PM yesterday and explained I was unhappy with how the situation was handled. Is it fair to ask the tenant to cover a piece? It was pretty upsetting the PM didn't do a good job communicating to the plumber the washer install is tenant's responsibility, nor did they do a good job explaining what happened to cause a 6-hour job at $1100, or try to lower it before charging me. This was the email I received: 

"I received a call from the tenant yesterday. They were having a new washer & dryers being delivered, upon the delivery the installer was unable to install due to the flooring.
Please see attached.
The funds in your reserve acct is $1000. Please advise regarding payment. I can pay a portion and you can pay the remaining balance."

 Thanks all! I called the plumbing company and kindly negotiated 2 hours off the bill, bringing it down to $787. I then asked my PM to request 1-1.5 hours worth of labor from the tenant. What happened was the plumber charged six hours of labor which included driving to the store and buying a new drain pan, and then waiting for a second plumber to show up and help lift the washing machine. The tenants just moved in, and they're responsible for their own washer install, but their installer refused because the drain pan was slightly the wrong fit. The materials charge was $180, and from Google I'm reading that a 400% markup on parts happens sometimes. I personally wish we skipped the drain pan install since I believe newer washers have sensors inside. I live in apartments that aren't on ground floor and none of the apartments I've lived in have a drain pan. 

 The bill was just under $1,100 and it covered replacing the drain pan and installing the washing machine. The tenant actually just moved in and per the lease they're responsible for washer and dryer, but their installer couldn't install the washer due to the non-functioning drain pan. 

 Oh interesting, are the maintenance techs in-house employees, or are they contracted but at a cheaper rate?

What happened was our previous PM handed over their business to a new PM who lives 90 minutes away (previous PM was local). The whole situation sucks because new tenants moved in and had trouble with their washer install, so the PM dispatched a plumber. The issue ended up was with the drain pan, so the plumber spent time driving to Home Depot. Tenants are responsible for their own install of washer/dryer but the plumber called over a second person and installed it on our dime. 

Is it reasonable to ask the PM to at least make a visit next time to brief the service provider on what the issue is, or is this technically outside of the scope of a usual PM's services?

After discussing, the plumber took longer because they weren't provided measurements or good detail of what the problem was. The plumber had to drive to the store to get the right sized part, and then also was not told that he didn't have to install the tenant's washer which would have saved us money because he called a second plumber to come over and help him lift the washer. Theoretically the bill would have been lower if my PM had visited and briefed the plumber prior to engaging him. 

We pay a PM to manage a SFH, and this past week we received a $1k bill from a plumber for fixing the washing machine drain pan. I'm a little frustrated because from the plumbing bill I don't understand what exactly was repaired and why. I believe the PM lives an hour and a half away (purchased PM business that we were previously using) and didn't visit the home before sending out the plumber because they didn't seem to know any more details about the invoice than what was written in the description. Is it standard practice for a PM to visit the home and see what the issue is before sending out a repair person? I'd be more receptive to the bill if I knew exactly what was wrong and what services were done.