All Forum Posts by: Richard Shepherd

 I think the firm is a medium size local boutique. Reviews online were generally positive so disappointed this have started off like they have. I chose them after doing some interviews with 3 local boutiques and 2 national (disruptor) firms.  

 My PM has 3 relationship managers, and my sense is they have another 5-7 employees who do showings, schedule maintenance and other admin. 

I sent an email basically threatening to terminate and got the quote 2 minutes later. The quote was all over the place, with some things priced well, but most were like a 30% markup to market rate. 

I got the feeling that the PM forgot to send it out for a quote in a timely fashion, and given wide spread on cost of work, the person doing the quote seems new. Or looking to rip me off.. Hoping it's the former.

Honestly the poor quote is giving me concern.  Isn't a PM suppose to have relationships to get you good deals on work? My other PM (jacksonville, FL)  has great prices. 

Hi All - I need your collective thoughts on whether I'm unreasonable or my chosen property manager. This is my second investment property, but first in Atlanta. 

I closed on home March 24. Prop manager came to meet me same day.  We discussed the punch list to get it ready for rental and since then - a little more than 2.5 weeks - all I've heard is that an affiliate company has come and scoped work, but they have not provided any quotes and say they can't give any guidance or a partial quote, and that instead I should be patient. 

The list is kinda long - about 15 items with most being handyman work (install blinds, add hanger rack to closet, add rubber footers to atic ladder, etc). Specialty items include adding privacy fence, creating a flower bed, a specialty water valve, and buying a scratch and dent washer, dryer and potential dishwasher. 

Is not hearing anything back normal? What's the normal turnaround for these types of things? Have others had a similar experience? 

Due to their slow pace amd considering they were just hired, I'm considering replacing them before the home is even listed. 

Thanks all for your thoughts

I'm a landlord in Jacksonville and can say the insurance market is a headwind. I think my property insurance 2 years ago was around $13-1400 a year. Then went to $2100 last year, then over $3k this year with less coverage. I changed to a new provider this year, and got insurance at $1450, but had to replace a roof and water heater to do so. 

My understanding is that the government passed some reforms making the market more insurance friendly at the end of 2022 which overtime is suppose to support the market.  Part of the change was to make it less easy for homeowners to make claims for new roofs.  

This seems like a tough problem to look for economical alternatives.  What's the problem with the grass? Is in a shady area and doesn't do well? I'm not a landscaper but a serious DIYer when it comes to gardening.  As far as alternatives go,  a few come to mind. You could put a slab of concrete,  deck,  or pavers for a portion of the area and then landscape around that with some edging plays such as small shrubs or ornamental grasses. You could also try artificial grass.  Another option would be to shrink the grassy area by having a plant border fill in asking the fence. This makes for an easy but attractive landscaping job. You'll want the plant borders at least 5-6 ft wide otherwise lots of medium shrubs will be too big for the area.  Use some planter edging to define the borders. And putting down weed suppression cloth and mulch will help keep the area low maintenance. Finally,  trees could help fill in some of the border.  Could be nice to have a showy tree being the focus point such as a magnolia or crepe myrtle for smaller trees / areas.

Curious to know what you finally decide on

Hi Pedro. I'm also from Jersey and recently went to Jacksonville to try and pick out (my first) rental property for under $250k. The good news is that such properties exist. The bad is that the market for these properties is insane right now. Properties go into contract sight unseen,  bidding wars are to be expected and winning bids seem to be 10's of thousands over ask for these properties.  That said I did find a place and I'm under contract now. I was targeting downtown or within 2.5 miles of it. I found that downtown was quiet, not overly welcoming vibe,  but didn't feel unsafe. The neighborhood just north,  Springfield had beautiful housing stock, although it appears a Renaissance is underway there as some properties looked rundown and neglected, but lots of activity in construction and fixing them up.  In general I find this to be the case in other neighborhoods nearby. While riverside looks well established,  there is evidence that it became that way through a wave of gentrification as some houses here and there look neglected,  but again all the construction shows that such properties are being rehabbed. I find this trend further west in Murray hill and north of riverside in what Google calls Mixon town.  I did get lost in an area of town that showed lots of crime online (through one of those crime star websites) bordering the mid-westside and New Town and didn't feel like i was in danger. Not particularly welcoming,  but nothing like how dangerous it feels in south Jersey City.