All Forum Posts by: Rachel Hong

Hi guys,

I have a property in Allentown and need your recommendations for snow removal and lawn care company. Can you suggest some you like that offer reasonable rates? Also, what is their typical rate structure? Is it based on inches of snow?

Thanks!

I'm currently working with Cassidon Property Management and the experience is so far so good.

 Yes I wish I can manage the property myself but due to the distance, I have to hire a PM firm locally.  I don't mind paying them for the management fees as long as they're not too greedy, irresponsible, and unethical :) 

Agreed with other comments above, hire carefully and fire quickly if things are not going in the right direction. 8-10% of rent for PM monthly management is standard plus one month of rent for placing new tenant. Other variable fees may apply. 

Save yourself the headache early on by vetting PM carefully -- making sure you know what they will get your approval on vs. not. A lot of times, these PM firms that own their in-house maintenance/contractors rip you off by sending their people constantly to your properties to look for things to fix and charge you on. Be very careful on that.

I'm a new investor from Jersey City, NJ so wanted to share the mistakes I made early on. I bought my first rental property in Allentown last year through an agent affiliated with Steel City Realty. Their agent was solid so that's why we decided to work with Empire Property Management, their sister company, which ripped us off on the PM aspect of the business by frequently and overcharging us on many maintenance requests (they have their in-house contractors). We lost a lot of $$ by working with Empire Property Management so I had to fire them eventually. Kristina from their company was supposed to be our PM but she was really just managing the monthly statement to owners. Their teams are silo-ed and as the result of that, you always find out about the issues after the fact. They never sent us work orders and get our permission before fixing things. They just charge us on the monthly statement without advanced notification and communication. Very poor PM management services. I just switched the property management firm off Empire Property Management due to their unprofessional practice. The most ridiculous thing they did was placing a charge of $900 on some emergency prevention best practice installations that were never communicated to us directly and clearly overpriced based on the nature of work. When I called Kristina to ask about this, she claimed it was mentioned in their monthly newsletter (assuming you subscribe to it and know you're supposed to keep track of important issues like that). I had sleepless nights due to poor PM.

good luck on your search!

Agreed with David's comment above, hire carefully and fire quickly if things are not going in the right direction. 

I'm a new investor from Jersey City, NJ so wanted to share the mistakes I made early on. I bought my first rental property in Allentown last year through an agent affiliated with Steel City Realty. Their agent was solid so that's why we decided to work with Empire Property Management, their sister company, which ripped us off on the PM aspect of the business by frequently and overcharging us on many maintenance requests (they have their in-house contractors). We lost a lot of $$ by working with Empire Property Management so I had to fire them eventually. Kristina from their company was supposed to be our PM but she was really just managing the money aspect. Their teams are silo-ed and as the result of that, you always find out about the issues after the fact. They never sent us work orders and get our permission before fixing things. They just charge us on the monthly statement without advanced notification and communication. Very poor PM management services. I just switched the property management firm off Empire Property Management due to their unprofessional practice. The most ridiculous thing they did was placing a charge of $900 on some emergency prevention best practice installations that were never communicated to us directly and clearly overpriced based on the nature of work. When I called Kristina to ask about this, she claimed it was mentioned in their monthly newsletter (assuming you subscribe to it and know you're supposed to keep track of important issues like that). I had sleepless nights due to poor PM.

Save yourself the headache early on by vetting PM carefully -- making sure you know what they will get your approval on vs. not. A lot of times, these PM firms that own their in-house maintenance/contractors rip you off by sending their people constantly to your properties to look for things to fix and charge you on. Be very careful on that.

good luck!

thanks for your reply @David Ribardo, I've attached the photos below. 

I sent some photos to two plumbing companies and they said the piping needs to be fixed/replaced. 

One of them recommended adding softener to the water heater or the entire building since the water in Lehigh Valley is hard and may corrode the water heater again within several years.  I'm not sure if you or other people have heard of something like that?

I'm just posting an update here to warn the BP community to be aware of Garden State Water Heaters: NJ Water Heater Company.  Even if you pay them to install a water heater, there's no guaranteed it would work. And the owner (Carmine) doesn't fulfill the contract of 2 year warranty on the labor. 

On top of the original $2100 I paid them, I paid them another $700 last week on 1/19/2022  to replace the water heater with a different model with higher BTU (65,000) than the first one I bought through them (40,000 BTU).  After they replaced the water heater (which according to Carmine should serve hot water properly), I got a call from tenants two days later saying that the water heater stopped functioning properly. 

The only time that you get hot water in the shower is when the heat is on in the apartment and the water is circulating through the heating pipes. When the heat is not on, the hot water is not passing through the valve in the center of the heater where the heat return is connected. Basically, my tenants would have to blast the heat/turn the room thermometer on to kickstart the water heater. When they turn the room heat back down, you only get cold water. So we think there is something wrong in the piping of this water heater.

When I messaged Carmine from Garden State Water Heaters: NJ Water Heater Company, he refused to send his team back to check and claimed that they didn't make any mistakes on piping.  Well, how can he be so sure without even checking out the issue? He even asked my tenants to only take two minutes hot shower which is ridiculous. 

I already escalated this to Angie List -- be aware of sourcing contractors through Angie's List, even if they seem to have good reviews. These contractors paid to have their services marketed but Angie List didn't vet them properly. I'm considering taking legal actions against this company. 

Hi BP community, hope you're staying warm and safe this winter season. 

My husband and I bought a duplex last year in Allentown. It came with two new Rheem water heaters (manufactured date was Nov 30, 2020. Model number is: XG40T06EC36U1) Our general contractor recently spotted some corrosion and leak on one of the water heaters.
I'm not sure if this issue is related to another issue mentioned by our home inspector on the inspection report: Venting pipes for Both Units also showing improper pitch to chimney stack. 

Can anyone recommend a trustworthy HVAC/Plumbing Company in Lehigh Valley to help us troubleshoot?

Thanks!

Hi Bill, Yes I did look up the original model but they don't make the exact same anymore.  Even though the original model was 65,000 BTU, the company owner told me 40,000 BTU should suffice without coming to see my unit. Lessons learned, I'll be more careful next time.