Property Management USA

also Tenant sign on fee: $500.00 ( cheap we charge 50 % of rental  first months retanl income (*yes we have a staff  and over head and don't work for free as some of you would like)Renewal fee: $250.00  ( we charge same thing ) but if we keep your place rented for another year and done a solid job…Well worth paying.

Recovery of late payments: 50%( We pay for eviction asap so cost involved in that  including staff hrs we charge for. Then anything left over we send to Owner ( yes property management is a full time business with a full time staff.Which needs licensing and cost of operation. So expect to pay.

   I was thinking this was a bit steep but after having a look at other property management fees for the Atlanta area, it seems reasonable. The property management company was recommended to me so I thought I'd post a blog to get some input from more experienced investors. This is my first attempt at investing overseas. Appreciate advice.

I have looked at the various fees from many different managing agents and I just find it incredible that the fees are so high, In particular the renewal fee for the sitting tenant – just ridiculous.

There are a myriad of other fees that they will charge you which seem to be anything at all to do with you property – apart from keep it on their listing.

What on earth do they provide for their 10% commission????

Getting away from the fees they want to charge the other aspects of the Leasing/management agreement that I despise are the set term instead of simply an agreement until such time that they fail to provide the services required. In Australia at most the RE's try for a 90 day agreement and are lucky to get 30 days. What's even worse with the Term clause is the wording which will automatically renew the term and further the term will be extended based the tenants term of the lease.

The other dozy is the clasue that selling to the tenant (tenants family, tenants friend or anybody that is in some way remotely connected with the tenant) will incur a Re commission and furthermore that this clause will survive the term of the management agreement.

It might be a business but at some point you need to give value for money!!!!

Regards

Sounds so simple doesn't it. In the US you are relying on two of the most backward archaic and simply dreadful systems it has been my misfortune to suffer under. US Post (anyone else's mail get sent to Austria like mine frequently does?) and the US banking system. For those that can't comprehend the backwardness, or isn't aware of the problem, online banking in the states means logging into your bank and typing in what you want to send and where. Sort of like in Oz. THEN it gets crazy. The bank actually prints out a cheque (and they don't spell it correctly!) and POSTS it to its recipient. It simply beggars belief they rely on so much paper! And the only way to explain the dominance of US couriers (UPS/FedEx/DHL) is by the poor service of USPS. 10 days it has taken for mail to go from one part of LA to another! FWIW most australians I know would not have written out a cheque for ten years – I threw out all my cheque books at least 5 years ago. I use a company to organise all my mortgages and liens. I tried to set up direct debits but they don't happen immediately when I buy new properties, and in any case they STILL require a POSTED CHEQUE. So I get the guy to call me (he is an idiot) if there is any problem. Because of his grasp of the works of international finance and the vagaries of the USPS he called me the day I was about to incur an 8% late fee. At least he called me and didn't post it, but anyway. I get this guy on the phone and ask him how to get him the money. He needs a cheque. Why can't I just TT him the money? No-one has ever done done it that way! WTF??? Well, simple mate, I am in Australia and I can't just post you a cheque, and NO fedex won't work either – we are quite a distance from your house… Forget it, Ill pay that mortgage from here right now – what are your acc details? No-one had EVER done that before, he didn't believe it could be done. So I ask him what most people do – he said post cheques. I THEN find out that this guys whole job is to collect cheques from the Post Office and take them to the bank to 'bank', and most are from supposed 'online banking'. All 900 customers per month, some (like me) with multiple mortgages and loans for each individual property. He is one of a team and that is his allocation. Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable. I live in hope that one day in the US you will be able to use the net for banking and not just downloading porn.

Alex, not insulting the US per se, just the people that work in ridiculous systems day after day and know they are stupid but keep on with them. Like notaries, banks and USPS are trying to send me to the looney bin.

I've been in the IT industry for a decade and guess what's the industry standard for Networking, Systems, Database, Financial Applications etc., all are American products.

It is not so much the 9/11 that stop America from advancing its Banking Electronic system (mind you, The Banking Corporations that started the whole 2008 GFC because of their very complex derivative tools but that's another story), it is more of its market size, complexi rules and regulations and passing of legislation to embrace Electronic system.

If you standardise the US Banking Electronic system, how many Banks that need to comply? Could be Thousands or even Ten of 1000s. From an IT perspective, that is a collasal understaking.    

You will need a lot of web page designers, web developers, IT securities engineers etc.., to implement such massive understaking.   US has the infrascture but the greatest challenge probably to legislatise the Electronic Banking system  (those people in the Congress) then making it law.

Here in Australia we only have 4 major Big banks and probably 80-90 per cent of the population banked with them, hence these 4 big banks monoolised the market…hence if they opted to go Electronic system, everyone else MUST follow….the little players don't have the options.

For our American colleagues, FYI, the following are done here Electronically (i.e., Direct Debit into/from your Bank Account)

Salary payment
Car payment 
Mortgage payment
Chilcard payment
Tax rebate (option to receive cheques)
BPAY (electronic bill payment)
Phone Banking
Credit car payment
Bank To Bank transfer (Electroni Funds Transfer)
etc., etc., etc.,

Note: There are still companies here that used cheques to pay their accounts, but majority of payments are done Electronically.

In summary, the size of the US Banking system and its complexity and passing of legistations are the GREATEST challenges of America to over come and that could take years before we see American goes Electronic system.

Thanks

I talk to my banker, the gals at the front desk,  they are really an extension of my office they will mail things for me fed ex if I need.

I am talking a small commercial bank, I would never bank with the big boys they fee you to death. And in addition I do not  have a debit card.  I charge everything to get my frequent flyer miles or pay cash. I will not pay debit fee's.

Hence a great relationship with said bank and I get fairly substantial credit lines from them when others would say no in this environment especially for real estate deals.