All Forum Posts by: Kevin Lee

Hemal - 

I afforded you the same courtesy that I afford every owner who posts an issue or a complaint, and I waited to respond until you had an opportunity to speak with me. Given the way you’ve conducted yourself over the last few days, it wasn't easy to wait. However, I chose to act with integrity and wanted to allow you to speak with me and share whatever your grievance may be. You have not taken that opportunity, so as I said in my voicemail to you, I am responding here.

You purchased this property in April 2023. It was newly built and one of roughly two dozen in this area that we sold to investors and continue to manage. The property was appraised for its full sales price and was rented on the day you closed the sale. You have experienced zero days of vacancy, the resident pays every month, and also signed a two-year extension of their lease with an increase in years two and three between 3.5% and 5%. You currently have a rental rate of 79% rent-to-price ratio. You have had exactly $212 in minor maintenance expenses since the day you purchased the property, excluding this occurrence. I’m not sure what else an investor can want from their first 27 months of owning a property…

Our customer service team has called you multiple times to check in, and although you occasionally spoke, you rarely take or return their calls.

Now, your complaint concerns the fact that we did not call you before performing work exceeding $400. Why did we not call first? Because it was over a weekend involving a quality-of-life issue for a nearly perfect resident. We moved quickly to protect the resident’s well-being, your asset, and your income. You took two days to respond once we notified you of the work completed. Imagine if it had taken you two days to respond to a request, and then you wanted to perform the work yourself? This is the very essence of why investors buy a truly Turnkey property and experience. A professional, turnkey company is responsible for the well-being and performance of investors' assets. This is what we've been doing for the past 22 years, and we excel at it.

The weekend before July 4, the resident called with an AC issue. Air conditioning in June and July in Birmingham is a significant issue, and heating and cooling concerns are always a quality of life concern for our company, especially during the hottest and coldest times of the year. We sent a technician to the house twice over a two-day period. He quoted a price for repairs, and we checked with a second AC company on the same repair list, which allowed us to negotiate the price down by roughly 20%. Although extensive work was done and explained in detail to you, most of it was covered under warranty, resulting in a final bill of $1,440.

Your resident was thrilled with the quick response and grateful that they were not left without AC on a hot summer weekend. The property management agreement allows us, as the property manager, to make repairs exceeding $400 in instances where your property would suffer greater damage if the repair were not made, or the resident would be in a poor quality of life scenario. This is the precise job that you and all of our 3500+ owners have hired us to do. Our reputation is critical, and how we treat residents on behalf of our owners is the primary reason for our ability to secure long-term occupancies and minimize vacancy.

It is clear to me from the messages you’ve sent and the way you spoke to our team on the phone that you are not a good fit with our company. You do not view the value of the services we provide and the respect we afford all parties in the same way. This could have been solved so easily. You could have easily asked to use the credit to cover the costs. However, you were offended that we would even consider doing the work in the first place. As another example of just how far off we are in philosophy, you offered a solution to us – “Break the lease and increase the rent by $100 from next month because the tenant wants to use the AC”. That is asinine! Subsequently, we have sent you a termination notice for management purposes.

In many cases, I provide other companies as references in the area for you to contact; however, I’m afraid that in this case, I don’t know anyone whom I would refer. I'm sure you will find someone, and hopefully for your sake, they are not on BP. Regarding the credit referenced, it was a credit for management services provided by Premier Property Management. It does not follow you to whomever you want to manage the property. Unfortunately, you chose this reaction and this path—best of luck in your future endeavors.

FYI – you also posted this same review with 1 star on Google. Here is how three recent residents in a similar situation to your resident reviewed our service. If you want to manage this property yourself, take these into consideration.

5 Star - “@Candice Burgner sent someone out to check our AC within a couple of hours. They fixed it in 30 minutes. All is working well.”
Mark G

5 Star - “My husband and I recently had to have some maintenance requests serviced in our home and our Zone Manager @Megan Weaver worked with a sense of urgency and efficiency that helped to get our issues resolved in a timely and professional manner.”
Maggie D

5 Star - “I had an issue with my Ac unit over the weekend and of course the offices were closed. @Candice Burgner the zone manager ended up contacting me that same day after I put in a work order using the online portal. She assured me that the order had been put in and she was just waiting on a company to get the order and reach out. That night the company company contacted me and let me know they would be out the next morning. The company came out and did repairs and my ac unit was back up and running. I appreciate the prompt attention to this matter especially when it is so hot outside! Thanks so much Candice you were awesome!!!”
Agrapina W

 Hey There @Kevin Lee, 

Happy to share. Yes, there have been challenges. First of all, my buy criteria is pretty narrow: 

- A or B+ neighborhood with above average schools in growing locations (I have mainly looked in the Sun Belt as of now)

- 3/4 bed, 2 bath, purchase price <250k with at least 6% rental rate (1% rule is really hard to find with the properties I like, so I need to temper my expectations)

- newer (2000 or after) or newly renovated via a turnkey company

So, the obvious challenge is the options I have are less than if I expanded my search. Also, I give a little bit up on cash flow and COC returns (these properties are simply more expensive), but being a long and hold investor, I know I'll do ok on ROI due to rising rents, appreciation and paydown of my principal. None of this happens overnight, but I know it will over time. I just make sure I check the numbers and make sure I am cash flowing a little. I don't want to depend solely on appreciation.

The other challenge which has probably hit all investors in the rise in interest rates, which has slowed my ability to acquire, but working with partners where rate buydowns are an option can help make the numbers work. 

Finally, I made a bone headed decision to buy a property in a new build in Florida that was still being permitted. Unfortunately, the delays (it was never completed) tied up my capital for a couple years and stopped me from being able to do other deals. Lesson learned, I'll only do completed new builds or renovated properties moving forward. 

I will say, once you have a partners you feel comfortable with, subsequent properties can be  smoother, but there are always external challenges to address. I am happy to share more if you want to DM me for more details, but hope this helps. 

@Kevin Lee

just curious, what were your closing costs on your purchase?