OK I bought my home in SLC Utah a 3.5 years ago. House was in ok shape, no real problems. Just old and needed updating. In the time I lived there I finished the basement, and updated the entire home to new.

I moved back to Fla for work and kept the home as a rental handing to a prop. mgt co. Interviewed them, and everything seemed good.

I am very pleased with the tenant they found, but that is about it.

Every month they take something out of the rent that needed to be 'repaired'.

First month they claimed the drain for the washing machine was too low and they had to attach another pipe for the water to drain. When we moved in the washing machine (came with) worked fine, and our new one worked fine. Never had a problem.

Next month claimed the roof leaked down into the home. In the 3 yrs I lived there it never leaked, and for good reason, the shingles were just put on before we moved in.

Next month we get a call that says the hoses under the kitchen sink blew out and they had to replace the spicket as well. I called back and informed them that I had just put new hoses AND a new faucet in before we left. He then called back and said "Oh that was another home, sorry we misbilled you". Not billed.

Now this month we get billed for "garbage disposal coming loose, had to replace" which I can't believe, isn't that glued/cemented in?

And!!!!! A note at the bottom that said "pipe freeze to front lawn spicket. Are in process of repairing. Will take out of next months rent."

Now I will add that we sat at the table I specifically asked about this. We asked him when the house would be winterized so no pipes would freeze. He said he'd winterize by covering the swamp cooler, removing hoses etc etc.

So....if it really did freeze, isn't he liable for the cost?

I am so sick of dealing with what I think is a complete rip off artist. I want to keep the property and mgt it myself, but I won't be back in SLC for at least 3 more years. So now I have to find another prop. mgt company until then. Right now though, I have to deal with this guy who is turning my property into a loss every month.

I will also say that the entire time I lived there nothing happened. Nothing. No leaks, frozen pipes, or anything. All work I did on that house update it and finish the basement. Now all of a sudden, it's one repair after the other.

Where should I start? I really want to contact the tenants under the guise of a survey. Maybe listing all the problems and asking if they were dealt with promptly. I feel helpless since it's 2300 miles away and I really can't get out there until after April.

Any advice would be appreciated.

__________________
1994 C 280 117.5k, White (Good as new)
1997 Toyota Camry 149k Miles (Not so pretty anymore)

1990 190e 2.6 95k (Sold-Should not have)
1981 240d Stick ??? Miles...sold

Ouch....start interviewing new property management people.......So you can change as soon as you can release them, I know there are a few members here that do just that, you get a bump to keep it high on the list.

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I think you need to change the arrangement. You need to be notified by the tennants when there is a problem, and then authorize the repair yourself after someone has given an estimate. Obviously when there is an emergency you need to have the tennant do what he sees fit. This "pay after the fact" where the agent has unilateral authority to spend your rent every month is not sound.

I think some stuff that is normal wear and tear, you should have a "copay" arrangement to cover repairs, and then, when nothing breaks you could give the tennant a discount on one month's rent after a year or six months, to motivate them not to be irresponsible with your money. Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Jason:
Jim has some good ideas. I've worked for a number of property management companies over the years. Would not trust one of them. I'd actually try to do most of it myself at a distance. Find a handyman you can trust and have the tenants call you directly.
The only problem I can see at a distance is renting the place out. I'd even offer tenants a substantial discount if I could keep a property management company out of the picture.
The other option is to find a local landlord you trust and cut a deal with him or her. I'd say it would probably be worth at least twice the price of the property management company to make a deal like that.
When I bought one of my places, it was under a long contract with a management company. I made it a condition of the purchase that the contract would be voided.
Everyone property management company I know, had nickle and diming the owners to make extra money down to a science.

Kerry

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

If you can get some good references, or perhaps know someone who can be the "handyman" you can save yourself a lot of grief.

Whilke not all handymen can do every job, they usually are pretty well connected enough to get things done.

Maybe someone you had do work fo ryo ubefore.

Like Jim and Kerry said, you must be notified by the tenant of any problems and you should be the one to authorize any repairs.

Additionally, any mangement company will bill you top dollar for every repair. That's another way they make money. You have no idea what the actual repair cost them thru their contractors.

__________________
Enough about me, how are you doing?

Well I talked to the PM guy today before I left.

He really laid it on me, real thick. Tried to tell me that it was part of business renting a home to take a hit here and there. I said that was good and dandy but it was somthing every month so far. He then said it would be smarter of me to cough up the (75-200 bucks) money for the frozen pipe. "Best to keep the tenants happy" he said. I said no way. The tenant put the hose on after it was taken off the other month. Then it freezed. He should pay for freezing the pipes up.

PM says that it could cost me more money in the long run if they tenant decides not to renew because of this. I held my ground and refused to pay. I also said no more repairs without notifying me first, not one cent.

I talked to another buddy of mine out there and he is going to try to help me sort this out. If I fired this PM co. and got another one I'd probably just end up with another guy jerking me around. I figured I would have a PM watch it until I got back. Big mistake that was.

Thanks for the replies. I asked for a copy of the lease to be sent to me so I can get in touch with the tenants as well.

__________________
1994 C 280 117.5k, White (Good as new)
1997 Toyota Camry 149k Miles (Not so pretty anymore)

1990 190e 2.6 95k (Sold-Should not have)
1981 240d Stick ??? Miles...sold

Find someone from SLC on this site and ask him/her to go over and check the place out. He/she will be your Agent, you can mail a letter detailing this and make up some kind of contract, and have your Agent inspect the house and the repairs that were done.

__________________
Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

I have a rental property and began by using a management company, which was a huge mistake. Everyone told/warned me, and said it would be a disaster. My thinking was, how bad can a professional company be? How can these stroies be true? After it was all said and done, I found the tenant myself, and the PM has been pretty mediocre in everything they have done. They don't charge very much (8%), but it was a big mistake and the contract expires in May, thank god.

The best thing to do, acccording to my friends, is have a friend who is trustworthy keep an eye on an out of town property for a few bucks, and have him be the contact person, or just deal with the tenants yourself since you have just the one property.

Mine is 8% too, thought is was pretty reasonable. But now I see how this guy makes his money.

I am working with a realtor friend of mine in SLC to see what solution I can come up with. He is calling me back on Monday.

Interesting to read that others have had crappy experiences with PM's too.

Live and learn I guess. The biggest thing that ticked me off more than anything was the guy saying one thing and then doing the other. And how he spoke to me on the phone. He wouldn't answer my questions straight up and did everything he could to convince me to pay up.

__________________
1994 C 280 117.5k, White (Good as new)
1997 Toyota Camry 149k Miles (Not so pretty anymore)

1990 190e 2.6 95k (Sold-Should not have)
1981 240d Stick ??? Miles...sold