All Forum Posts by: Tricia O'Brien

Hello!  I am looking for feedback from property owners about property managers / management companies who operate in Modesto CA.  My property is in Modesto, but if you're based in Stockton or Merced, I'd like to hear from you as well! 

How well did they manage your properties? Good communication? 

Feel free to contact me directly or respond to this post, whatever works best for you.  Thanks in advance! 

Tricia

Hi Michael,

Thanks for responding to my post. Great advice! Especially about validating information.  I have a few follow up questions:

1) What's an example of "get referrals and cross reference them to get as much accurate information as possible"?  Would that be, for example, if the PM says, "I manage a duplex for John Smith in Turlock," then I call John as a reference, ask John a few questions, and then ask John the address of his duplex so I can later look it up on the county website and verify if he is the owner?

2) I have on single family home (rents for $2100/month) that needs a PM.  Is it realistic to ask for and expect to get at least 2 landlord references and 2 tenant references (current clients) if I am a " small time" landlord with one property, not multiple units?

Thanks,

Tricia O'Brien

Helo Bigger Pockets folks!  A couple of years ago there was an excellent long article on BP about all the things to look for and ask when interviewing property managers.  I think it was written by @Nathan Gesner, a property manager from Wyoming. 

Does anyone know where I could find this or a similar overview for property owners? Thanks in advance :)

@Gregory Schwartz Good point!

I found out on July 15 that my landlord policy in California on my single family rental home is being non-renewed and the last day of coverage is Aug 1.  The stated reason is that my independent agent is being cancelled by Safeco and will no longer be a Safeco agent. 

I'm going to try to get Safeco to waive their new policy of not allowing any change of broker requests to go through after July 1, 2024 based on the fact that I never received their notice of Non-Renewal (dated May 4, 2024 ) in the mail and only got a copy of  it by email from my agent's office on July 17.  

I've been told that the law requires insurance companies to give  90 days written notice of non-renewal, but if I never received it by US mail from them, do I have a good case that they are out of compliance with that law and need to allow me to switch agents and renew?

How should I approach negotiating with Safeco? 

Does anyone know if the 90 day notice requirement is a California law or federal law? 

Since I've been told the insurance market is really tough right now in California with most of the big companies (Nationwide, Allstate, State Farm)  not writing new policies to new customers, I'm trying to do a change of broker to a different Safeco agent. I found one is Sonora CA who is willing to do this, but I have to negotiate with Safeco to get them to allow this exception to the July 1 deadline; however,  I would not have needed the exception if I'd gotten the Non-renewal notice in time.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions ! :) 

@Ezekiel Cardoso, @Nathan Gesner... thanks for you replies!

Hello!  Can anyone tell me where I can find good forms that are appropriate for Indiana for notices to vacate?  Or templates? I'd like to get one for giving a tenant 10 day notice of lease violation (like non-payment of rent or moving in an unauthorized tenant, etc) where the tenant can stay if they correct the problem within 10 days.  Also, a 30 day notice to vacate for someone on a month-to-month rental agreement.  Any replies would be appreciated!  Thanks

You need to screen tenant applicants better, and it might take 2 months on the market to find a decent tenant.  Find a PM company that will do this or you need to screen tenant applicants yourself. I have a class C house in a class D neighborhood in Indiana. The current fair market value of the home is about $60K.  My minimum screening criteria are:  credit score at least 600, gross income at least 3.5x the rent, no evictions.  My current tenant (just moved in last month) and my previous tenant all had credit scores of at least 650.  I screen the tenant applicants myself, and I live 3000 miles away from the property.  I have a local realtor who does showings and other tasks for me. 

The PM company might be ripping you off regarding the repairs. How do you know it really needed $10K in work?  Do they have maintenance people on staff that they pay $20/hour plus medical benefits but then they bill you $60/hour for their work? That can be a huge source of revenue for the PM company. 

Good luck! 

Great overview of the pros and cons from your experience!

@Theresa Harris

Would you list the 18 and 19 year old as occupants on the lease?  Would you list the 14 year old as an occupant as well?