All Forum Posts by: Michelle Cohen

 Thanks for your feedback, Michelle! Do you perhaps have some contacts you could share?

I can tell you which ones to stay away from!

I always make a joke that take whatever the realtor says and subtract a letter grade. 

Definitely spend some time in the area. You can make a lot of money in C class but it's quite a bit of work.

@Michelle Cohen Suggest you try to have a VERY open conversation with Mary about their overall business systems and procedures. 

Guessing it won't go well because they bought another company and were ill-prepared to take on all the new units and provide acceptable service.

So, while you're waiting for that chat with Mary, which she will most likely avoid, you should start interviewing other PMCs.

Encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.

Even if someone give you a referral, don’t make the mistake of assuming that PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.

We also can’t believe how many owners hire the first PMC they speak with!

Then they complain their expectations aren’t being met!

In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.

It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – and they often select the first PMC they call!

So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.

EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean? What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.? You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

We have a 14-page management contract that we've added our real experiences to over the years, with the intent of protecting both us AND the landlord. Beyond the Monthly Management, Placement & Maintenance fees, all other fees in our contract are IF EVENT -> THEN fees.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processes

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

P.S. If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general. Take ownership of your mistake and learn to do the proper due diligence recommended above😊

So back in 2018, I decided to purchase property out of state since I couldn't afford the property in SoCal. I chose Ohio as a market and started looking for property.

The first deal I found was a 3-unit for $100k. Market Rents were $600-$800/month/unit. Monthly expenses were around $1,000 with everything.

I thought I was purchasing a cash-flowing machine. 

Turns out, the property was in a D-class area. Break-ins, loitering drug addicts, and inherited awful tenants were my everyday headache.

Before I knew it, I had to fire my property manager and move from Los Angeles to Ohio to figure out what to do with this property. I started doing repairs myself to save costs and slowly over 6 months got all the bad tenants out and got 3 solid tenants in all at $800/month.

In exactly 12 months I sold the property for $190k. Even though I lost my hairline, I gained so much knowledge. 

That knowledge took me from 3 units to 51 in less than 2 years.

We are all so worried about making mistakes but the mistakes I made with that 3-unit is what got me to where I am now. A lack of action is WAY worse for your success than mistakes.

The fact that they haven't even signed the PM Agreement is a HUGE red flag. Without a contract, they have zero obligation to you and it opens them to liability because they are acting on your behalf without authority. Serious rookie mistake. If they allowed such a major document to fall through the cracks, what else will they fail to do?

The other thought: maybe they left the ball in your court and you never signed the PMA. Because you haven't signed it, they don't feel any obligation to act on your behalf and are slow to respond. Is that a possibility?