Real Estate Broker 路 Park City, UT 路 Member since 2020 路 15 posts 路 5 votes
Love Bigger Pockets. So much helpful information and so thanks to everyone that has contributed. In need of recommendation for a property management company in both Cleveland, OH area and Nashville, TN. I may have found a good one in Nashville and will keep the community informed when I know more. However, I would love recommendations for the Greater Cleveland area. I've looked at reviews and called a few places but so far no one has called back. Would really like solid recs from personal experience.
@Elana Greer if you don't get any recommendations here, why not look at apartments.com and look at some properties that match what you are looking to have managed. Then reach out to those PM and see how they conduct themselves. Perhaps find one that manages a property that you wish to transform yours into.
@Elana Greer if you don't get any recommendations here, why not look at apartments.com and look at some properties that match what you are looking to have managed. Then reach out to those PM and see how they conduct themselves. Perhaps find one that manages a property that you wish to transform yours into.
Remax Haven Realty for the Cleveland area. I use them and they have been great.
Thanks Jessica- how has your experience been investing remotely in OH? How long have you owned out there? Would love to know your thoughts and experiences if you鈥檙e willing to share.
@Elana Greer - I've been investing in Cleveland for the past 3.5 years. Currently at 31 units concentrated on the west side with the intention of expanding. Out of the different locations my company invests in I like Cleveland the most (yields + ease of operating + enjoy visiting monthly). Do you currently have positions in Cleveland? If so where about?
Thanks for the note Jeff. I don鈥檛. This is going to be my first of many out of state. Currently all properties are in my neck of the woods. I鈥檝e heard a lot of good things about the Cleveland area and the number are almost too good to be true when one is used to California prices.
I have been vetting PM companies this past week and will continue to do so, followed by a visit out there in March.
Are your investments in Cleveland proper or outlying areas?
@Elana Greer - For context I live in Boston and all my investments are out of state. My portfolio is concentrated in Ohio City, Detroit-Shoreway, and Edgewater. I have a few positions in Newburgh Heights and Slovic Village to get exposure to different classes. All are 4 units or under. My target for this year is to get into a bigger building (20+) to compliment the existing portfolio.
To confirm I do not have enough knowledge on Lorain county to give you an educated opinion etc.
Love Bigger Pockets. So much helpful information and so thanks to everyone that has contributed. In need of recommendation for a property management company in both Cleveland, OH area and Nashville, TN. I may have found a good one in Nashville and will keep the community informed when I know more. However, I would love recommendations for the Greater Cleveland area. I've looked at reviews and called a few places but so far no one has called back. Would really like solid recs from personal experience.
@Elana Greer if you don't get any recommendations here, why not look at apartments.com and look at some properties that match what you are looking to have managed. Then reach out to those PM and see how they conduct themselves. Perhaps find one that manages a property that you wish to transform yours into.
Love Bigger Pockets. So much helpful information and so thanks to everyone that has contributed. In need of recommendation for a property management company in both Cleveland, OH area and Nashville, TN. I may have found a good one in Nashville and will keep the community informed when I know more. However, I would love recommendations for the Greater Cleveland area. I've looked at reviews and called a few places but so far no one has called back. Would really like solid recs from personal experience.
Hello Elana, Finding the right property management company is the most important piece of the puzzle. I recommend asking the PM you are going with a couple of questions before making the decision:
Do you mark-up maintenance and repairs?
What does your screening process look like?
Do you charge any fees if the unit is vacant?
What are your management fees?
What is the best way to communicate with your team and what options do I have?
If I want to cancel my management agreement do I have to pay any fees?
Don't use Shoreway Realty. Where do I start with the headache they are?
Cleveland passed stricter rental registration requirements over the last year, and Shoreway did not order the needed lead testing or HVAC testing to meet the required deadline, and when I asked if they had ordered such since the city sent me a letter, they have no timeline to! They filed incorrect and invalid registrations with the city. Huge red flag to not have your management company up to date on the local regulations, that leaves me as the owner in a very bad position. Then their professional advise was to not do the required lead testing and to register myself as the in-area contact even though I live 2,000mi away, which clearly goes against the rules of the law. Now they also won't let the property transfer to the new manager for 30-days even though I found a management company willing and able to correct the issues immediately, and offered to let Shoreway keep the following month management commission for the 1 week that would be under their management anyway.
Unit turnovers have been way too slow, usually taking 3 months just to get rent-ready (all cosmetic, no mechanical replacements). One they took 6 months to do! On the last one the contractor said they would be finished by December, deadline passed so I asked for progress photos from the management company since the contractor from their vendor list kept delaying in sending them. When I responded to the photos with some questions I got a lecture from the owner, Kathleen Bassett, how the person who had taken them was her highly paid bookkeeper who was doing a favor. They take 10% for all managed construction, so this is not a favor to ask for progress inspection on a project that was behind schedule several weeks, and was a vendor from their list. It is their job! Also, I didn't ask the bookkeeper to be sent out, send someone with construction knowledge. Overall just find she is very arrogant, don't let the fake schmooze fool you.
I also go out once a year to check properties. Their landscaping personnel constantly let the ivy grow up the side of the house, which costs money to pull and damages siding, versus being at all preventative in pulling the ivy when it is small which is what every gardener I hire in the area I live does. I raised this issue several times and it never changes. They don't follow basic instructions. I asked for concrete expansion joints to be sealed, very specific, and then they emailed me back and asked it the cracks should be sealed AS WELL! I said yes. When I got the repair photos they only did the cracks, not the expansion joints, and then wanted to charge me more to quote the expansion joints. This type of so-called "miscommunication" has happened on several occasions with other repairs even though instructions are in-writing.
I regret not firing Kathleen Bassett and her team at Shoreway Realty sooner, but finally done! Save yourself the headache!