All Forum Posts by: Kevin M.

@Jennifer Ruelens do you know where specifically the 'rules state that if you accept partial payment after you have started the eviction process, you must then start over'? I'm unfamiliar with this rule in PA. It would be helpful to have a source to explore further TY

@Pat Hamilton the Lead Safe certification is good for 4 years in Philadelphia 

I can't speak directly to what it will do on appraisal but I will say generally tenants in these markets just want to see a 'clean' basement with sealed & painted walls and plenty of lighting. As long as there are ceiling fans in bedrooms & living room, central A/C also isn't a deal-breaker for renting. 

Also A/C is one of our most common maintenance requests in the summer. So it's just another thing for you to pay for and maintain. 

I don't have a problem renting your typical 3BR/1BA C-Class homes without A/C or finished basements.

Not worth it. Just get $2M in GL if your insurance offers it. And a large umbrella policy. Philly is doing everything in their power to erode LLC protection anyway. Just my opinion as someone who has been in the same boat with Philly's abnormally large xfer tax.

At least in Philly- It rarely benefits you to force a tenant into living in a property they want to vacate. My general advice is to retain as much as you legally can under the terms of the lease and let him walk. 

Use his complaints as feedback and improve the unit to find a new tenant. Assuming your PM collected first, last, security deposit you really shouldn’t be out of pocket for them to find you a new tenant. 

@Sheryl Sitman I agree this is the most challenging issue I face in property management in Philadelphia. Even more difficult than the regulatory environment. It seems quality people move-on to bigger & better things very quickly. My best HVAC team, for example, is already booked out 4 weeks. My best plumber is always 'underwater' with work for days. 

The supply can not keep up with demand. We need more intelligent/professional people to enter the trades. There is significant $$$ to be made.

To answer your question about retention I try to;

1) Pay invoices same-day

2) Don't beat them up on price

3) Establish a face-to-face personal relationship

Markus,

Welcome from Philly. I'm a property manager in Philly. I'd love to talk more about what you're looking for and what we offer to see if we'd be a good fit. I sent you a connection request please feel free to send me a message.

-Kevin

Otter Property Management 

@Charles H. I would say primarily D class areas with a few in C class.

The particular trouble tenants that come to mind are inherited. But a lot of the trouble with Section 8 in Philadelphia doesn't necessarily come from the tenants but rather the administration of the program through PHA. 

Temple is a very tough area to rent right now. Available rental inventory far exceeds demand.

 It’s a perfect storm of recently constructed high rise apartments and fewer students on campus due to COVID. I’ve had to slash prices on my larger units in the area and there’s no sign of imminent recovery. Properties that used to easily rent for $3k/mo won’t even get any showings at $2,200

@Marlia Stone congrats on the purchase. I see you're getting a lot of response from people all around the country. This is great- but Philly is a unique market and things don't really work the same around here.

I'm a full-time property manager in Philly and I've been doing it for years. Virtually no one uses realtors to lease rentals. It's just not really a market in Philly. For a few reasons I can get into- I think this is your worst course of action.

People have also mentioned Facebook Marketplace for advertising. I've sifted through thousands of leads and I will say Facebook tends to bring in the lowest quality leads in Philadelphia of all major marketing sites (Zillow/Trulia/Hotpads/Apts.com)

I am a big proponent of self-managing 1 unit if you're local and willing to put in the time to learn the process. There are a few great free tools to list your property that will syndicate to most major listing sites (avail.co). They also offer tenant screening services. Zillow lists your first property for free. 

Search on BiggerPockets for Philadelphia lease requirements. There are a good amount of legal requirements unique to Philly you'll have to include in your lease agreement. 

Taking the time to learn these things, get a feel for screening, understand the move-in process, handle maintenance, etc. will give you a good grasp of the logistics behind management. This will help you down the road when you want to expand your operation and bring in a professional management company. 

Best of luck DM me with any Philly-specific management questions.