Need a new property manager for Allentown area
Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 2 votes
Need a new property manager for Allentown area
Most Popular Reply
Real Estate Agent · Allentown, PA · Member since 2016 · 197 posts · 181 votes
2yHi Nina! What kind of a property management company are you looking for?
Overall, there are a variety of options here that can fit just about any investing style. I run the Allentown office of Neo Management Group. I've built around the way I want my own personal rental properties managed. I have personally had good experiences with KPMM and Empire, which are large companies with consistent performance. Whenever one of their management clients sells a property, it's always been an easy addition to our portfolio. There are plenty of others, ranging from huge portfolios with digital systems to one person, yellow notepad based operations.
Some things to think about:
How involved do you want to be? If you want to be active in managing your properties, a smaller, more flexible company will probably be adaptable to your requests. A bigger company may not be as willing to customize systems based on your preferences.
Do they have in-house maintenance? This can be great, in terms of responsive service and not competing against other sources of business. It can also lead to higher overall costs due to a lack of competition.
How are they structured financially? Most of the companies around Allentown are between 7-10% for management fees, and a one-month rent tenant placement fee. The odds and ends are important here and add up to a huge difference. Do they charge you for evictions? For management of full renovations? If they collect late fees, do they go to the company, to you, or get split?
I encourage you to interview several property managers. That will let you move ahead confidently, knowing you have the one who is the best fit for you!
5 Replies
- Real Estate Agent · Allentown, PA · Member since 2016 · 197 posts · 181 votes2y
Hi Nina! What kind of a property management company are you looking for?
Overall, there are a variety of options here that can fit just about any investing style. I run the Allentown office of Neo Management Group. I've built around the way I want my own personal rental properties managed. I have personally had good experiences with KPMM and Empire, which are large companies with consistent performance. Whenever one of their management clients sells a property, it's always been an easy addition to our portfolio. There are plenty of others, ranging from huge portfolios with digital systems to one person, yellow notepad based operations.
Some things to think about:
How involved do you want to be? If you want to be active in managing your properties, a smaller, more flexible company will probably be adaptable to your requests. A bigger company may not be as willing to customize systems based on your preferences.
Do they have in-house maintenance? This can be great, in terms of responsive service and not competing against other sources of business. It can also lead to higher overall costs due to a lack of competition.
How are they structured financially? Most of the companies around Allentown are between 7-10% for management fees, and a one-month rent tenant placement fee. The odds and ends are important here and add up to a huge difference. Do they charge you for evictions? For management of full renovations? If they collect late fees, do they go to the company, to you, or get split?
I encourage you to interview several property managers. That will let you move ahead confidently, knowing you have the one who is the best fit for you!
- 2yMichael SmytheBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent · Metro Detroit · Member since 2023 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
Encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.
To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.
Even if someone give you a referral, don’t make the mistake of assuming that PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.
We also can’t believe how many owners hire the first PMC they speak with!
Then they complain their expectations aren’t being met!
In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.
It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!
Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – and they often select the first PMC they call!
So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.
EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean? What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.? You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!
This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.
The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!
We have a 14-page management contract that we've added our real experiences to over the years, with the intent of protecting both us AND the landlord. Beyond the Monthly Management, Placement & Maintenance fees, all other fees in our contract are IF EVENT -> THEN fees.
We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:
We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.
EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!
P.S. If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general. Take ownership of your mistake and learn to do the proper due diligence recommended above😊
Logical Property Management4.9453 Reviews - Member since 2024 · 16 posts · 9 votes2y
There is a real estate investment club called, what else, Eastern PA Real Estate Investors Club Lehigh Valley ( not Scranton) . YOu can find it on meet-up. I recently joined and found it extremely valuable. Most of the investors there have multiple properties and will freely share their experiences with you regarding local management companies. There was a management company that gave a presentation recently however I am not sure of their name. The next meeting is Thursday 3/14
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