Hi everyone,
Two months ago we were informed by the property manager that their was mould in the bathroom of our rental due to it not having a fan. The house has very high ceilings and a window in the bathroom (1950's). Anyway, we told them to go ahead and get quotes for installing a fan and fixing the mould. Two months later, nothing. I have written emails asking what is happening, left messages to call me back. Nothing. (i feel like i'm doing their job)
Then today i rang the 'Agents resolution Service' and they told me to ring the owner of the agency. Well i did and lets just say I was made to feel like i was rude for bringing it up that their service was not what i think it should be. (is it normal to be treated like that?)
Please tell me, did i possibly just P*ss them off just because i wanted to look after my tenant? I feel like I'VE been black listed just because i was trying to be a good landlord. I have 2 rentals with them and 2 with another agent and they know this.
What would YOUR next move be? They have now told me they will get an electrician out there straight away to have a look, after they told me the same thing 2mths ago.
I can't afford to burn my bridges in this regional town but don't like feeling that i can't bring up bad service with them.
Change property managers…….yesterday. A good property manager is worth their weight in gold, this one isnt. We changed after 2 years of very average service and the new one is outstanding, tough though fair. No it isn't normal to be treated in that manner and its highly unprofessional and rude. One of our rules is there is no excuse for poor communication with texting, email, mobile,fax etc. Good luck……..
Hi beaniemonster
That is one of the problems with investing in a small town. We had the same problem when we invested in Mt Isa. There were only two property managers in town and the one we were with was terrible. I didn't want to complain and leave in case the other one was worse. In the end I just sold the property about 2 years ago. I could have made a lot more money if I had held onto it, but it just wasn't worth the hassle.
The small towns that are now booming haven't had to deal with all the business before so are probably not coping with all the work and also not used to having to meet the same standards as required in capital cities. I had to deal with issues like not getting the rent paid into my account and then being blamed because I hadn't given the correct bank details – despite having had the rent paid into that account for the previous few months. I had money spent on work I hadn't authorised and in the 4 weeks between when I sold the place and settlement, about $500 of my money spent on repairs that I hadn't been asked about.
I suggest that you put a post on the forum asking for recommendations for property managers in that town. If you get responses saying that one of the other managers is good then change – as soon as you can. If you don't, then try to resolve the problem with the current property managers.
One of the costs of the higher returns in the regional returns is the risk of poor property management. For this reason I will never again buy in an area where there is no real property managment competition. As lalibella says, a good property manager is gold.
Cheers
K
Hi, have found bleach, anti-mould paints and cross ventilatation the best option. Maybe security screens on all windows and doors is a better option. Maybe you're better off arranging the quotes yourself. m
Hi Erin,
is this regional town is Maryboroogh ?
Cheers
Not knowing the town that you've invested in & how much more choice you have in property managers in the area, i would change straight away.
If your current prop mgrs are not communicating with you over this simple matter what will it be like if you experience a more serious problem. Could they handle it? In past experience, i have found good prop mgrs to be fairly quik to respond to these sort of scenarios.
All the best
AN UPDATE….. i sent an email outlining what i expect and got an email back at 11pm!!! bit odd.
NOW… i am informed the other property i have with them is more than 14 days in arrears (not sure exactly how many and when this happened) and that an order to vacate has been sent. no other details given. how appalling. i have an email i sent to the pm months ago stating that if any tenant was 14 days behind that i want an 'order to vacate' sent.
Do property managers usually tell the l/lord about this before it happens or at least send a copy to me?
Can i take the property off them now and give it to the others (the professionals – they are very good so far) how do i do this?
I know i could get a tenant straight away, so do i approach the other agents office and let them do the hand over?
Maybe i should look at self managing! (any feel good stories out there regarding that?) My gosh so much in my head right now about this, it's very frustrating.
I self manage 2 of my properties mainly for 3 reasons. More control over who the tenant is going to be. Save about $3000/yr. Have found PM's often underquote rent ($1000/yr).
You need to be professional, keep up with the regulations, do checks on references, etc and good with determining peoples characters. I have the tenants direct debit a seperate a/c for each property. ie never late.
If you want to be less connected with your properties it is not a good idea to self manage.Hi beaniemonster
You will have to look at your original retainment agreement with the property managers to see how much notice, if any, you need to give to terminate their services.
Cheers
K
I dont agree with agents locking clients into a contract if they are not happy but most of them do it. We allow all our clients an escape at any time if they are not happy.
As a pm I can state that the service you are recieving is very poor irrespective of where it is. More than 14 days? How much more? 30, 40??? Why was a rent arrears control not excercised at 14 days?
The normal procedure we use is to send the tenant and LL a letter on day 10 to tell them that an eviction notice will be given on day 14 if the rent arrears problem is not rectified. The LL then gives us the go ahead to evict the tenant and that is done on day 15. It should not be allowed to go further unless the LL has specifically instructed this!
All repairs and maintenance should also be done within a few days after the problem is noted. Not 2 months!
Hi There,
1. Read through your agency management contract and find out what the exit term is if you are not happy with the service.
2. Interview other managers to find a better solution…. tell them you are pulling the pin and you want some references to call for confirmation that thier services are all that they are creacked up to be.
3. Once you have found the right team player (I have found that RE agencies are a waste of time as most of thier income is VIA sales … and they only manage your proeprty as a matter of course in hope that they can get the sale if it all turnse to custard)… find a privateer with a good reputation!
4. Get your new team player lined up to take on the problems if they occur.
5. Call the current manager and tell them they are fired due to non reconcilable issues and non performance and you want to know when you have have all the keys and tenancy agreement copies.
6. Time it in with your new team players and transfer across to your new system.
Good luck with it.
Cheers
ShaneHi Beaniemonster,
I would not recommend managing your own properties unless you are very well organised, are able to be tough and at times ruthless (not swayed by sob stories) and actully live in the same town as your IPs. I have 13 IPs and find that my agents are much better than me at all the above. They also provide excellent records for tax at the end of the year. I am in contact with them each month if I need to be, and they know that if there are any default on rent I will want an explaination as soon as I get the statement. Dont forget the agent works for you. Change as soon as possible.
cheers Theresa
As Mr Trump would say to your Property Manager
You're Fired !I had a pathetic property manager and what I did was I rang another Real Estate Property Manager and asked them to pick up the key from the other useless Real Estate Property Manager.
They never returned my calls and let the lease run out without renewal.
Then the useless one later rang me and asked why I had not phoned them about the problem and why had I changed agents.
Talk about being really thick – they do not return phone calls why would I ring them !!
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