All Forum Posts by: Peter Lohmann

Make sure to search the forum, there have been at least a dozen threads on this exact topic.

Are you looking for professional property management in Columbus? RL Property Management was founded by two engineers to bring a systematic approach to property management in Columbus after they struggled to find a reliable solution for their own properties.

We are very selective about which properties we manage, which has resulted in the highest quality portfolio in Columbus. This reduces cost and overhead for us, and we pass those savings on to you. This means our clients enjoy a premium property management experience without paying a premium price.

We optimize for long-term occupancy because tenant turnover is the most destructive and expensive part of owning rental properties.

• Clear and consistent communication. You will never wonder what is going on with your investment
• Our #1 priority is getting your units leased quickly and efficiently.
• A dedicated team doing nothing but property management.
• Full-service: we take care of everything, including maintenance calls, finding tenants, signing leases, and securing the property.
• Monthly statements with rent rolls and maintenance details.
• Annual reports with a detailed breakdown of the property performance.
• Property Owner portal - log on and view the current status of your units, including payments and maintenance
• No hidden fees or surcharges - total transparency
• We specialized in single-family, and small to medium-sized multifamily properties (up to 99 units).

We've been buying and managing investment property throughout Columbus, Ohio since 2008. We have an extremely high lease renewal rate and have built systems over time to attract and retain high-quality tenants.

It's funny to see the perspective from the other side. From where I sit, we're barely charging enough to make it worth all the trouble and headaches (small margins), and it feels like every other company is making way more than us (mostly through leasing fees). We're philosophically opposed to leasing (placement) fees. The good news is that management fees are going up, not down, in Columbus. We track the pricing for all our major competitors and fees are up in the last few years. I think that's overall healthy for the marketplace because it will allow all the PM companies to deliver better quality service to their clients and tenants, keep better care of the properties, etc - which improves the bottom line of the property owner. When everyone is super-competitive and margins are razor-thin, service suffers big time. Doing PM correctly requires significant effort, technology, and really awesome team members (who command decent wages). A PM company can swing the value of your asset + or - several percentage points over 3-5 years of management, which is interesting since that's typically far greater than their cost in terms of absolute dollars. If I was hiring a PM company I'd completely ignore fees and just look at quality of service, systems, etc. It's way more important in the long run for the reason described above. Competition keeps fees generally in line.

I think the answer is a mixture of a few things. First, you're getting a sweetheart deal in those other 2 cities. Those numbers look very very low to me relative to average PM fees nationwide. Are you sure you're including ALL fees - annual fees, leasing fees, setup fees, renewal fees, marketing fees, etc? How long have these businesses been operating and what kind of service are they providing? It could be that some things aren't included in their "base" pricing which are included in the companies you are comparing against.

I also think you might be cherry-picking Columbus - I don't know of any PM in Columbus who charges both a placement fee and a startup fee.

As a point of reference, RL's amortized monthly charge for the first year on a $1,200/mo rental (Silver plan) per your example is $134, or about 11%. That's in line with the average PM cost (if you include all fees) across the country. And if you bring us an occupied unit, that drops to $109/mo, or 9%. All our prices are right on our website btw. 

Everything you wrote here is wrong.

-Vacancy, plan on 6% minimum. Much higher if you are buying in a lower-end area.

-Cap ex should not be expressed as a percentage of the rent, as the cost is completely unrelated to rent.

-Same with repairs

-Insurance is likely to be higher if you are working with a reputable company and buying appropriate coverage

-PM is typically higher than 10% once you factor in leasing fees, lease renewal fees, and other charges

-Closing costs I have no idea on, so you might actually be correct there.

HHH Tax Accountants.

Section 8 vouchers in Columbus are administered by the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA). They are annoying to deal with. That said:

-Month to month section 8 is no big deal. You can give them notice to move out (I would recommend 60 days but not sure if you can do 30 - check the lease). You do not need cause to give them notice. Of course you do need cause to evict (as in, post a 3-day notice and go through the court proceeding), but if they refuse to move after the given move-out date, that would be considered cause.

-Rent increases must be requested from and approved by CMHA for section 8 tenants. You must give the tenants 60 days notice and then submit some paperwork and wait for a reply. You can request this a maximum of once every 6 months and if approved, you must wait 12 months to request again. We do this automatically for our client's properties on an annual basis and typically modest (and even significant) rent increases are approved.

Am I missing some big number here?

Yes. Many of them.

"Bones" are irrelevant. When was the last time you saw a house fall down due to "bad bones"? It's just something Realtors say when trying to gloss over problems, and the phrase has entered the general lexicon. Don't be fooled.

Older homes are much more maintenance-intensive than newer homes, materials quality notwithstanding. Anytime you go to do anything in an old house, it turns into a huge project with lots of unknowns and unexpected expenses. A new home is much easier to work on and the expenses are predictable.