What would you do?

Question

You own a rental out of state, you fire your current property manager after only 2 months. Your new PM emails you a couple dozen photos of the property to document the condition of the property when he took over. There is waist high grass, piles of trash in the yard. A total mess.!

Couple days later, you get a citation from the county board of health over these conditions.

Do you report the guy to the state board of realtors?

PG

Couple days later, you get a citation from the county board of health over these conditions.

Do you report the guy to the state board of realtors?

PG

Silvio Brigliadoro · Answer

Phillip, what is the reason you own an out of state property and not one in or near your home town?

Scott R. · Answer

Can't blame him for not telling you about the siding repair, he probablly couldn't see it with the grass being so tall :)
Third pm is a charm? Hopefully!

Phillip Gainey · Answer

Okay, here is a rough breakdown of PM #2

Hired in late May.

Got tenants out June 20.  Great.  So what do we need to get it rent ready again.  Tells me soon after some roof shingles missing, couple leaks in roof.  Should cost about 200 bucks.  Okay I tell him, will mail a check for 300.  I did. Weeks go by.  "Still waiting for estimate, still waiting for estimate, blah blah blah!  July 27th I email him asking what is going on.  He tells me I need a new roof, 4500!  I'm thinking, it takes you 5 weeks to tell me that!  He had said weeks ago the roof guy was there, just needed his estimate.

At this point I am pissed.  Oh he then tells me the garage is broken, need to fix.  At this point I tell him I just want to sell. I check with an agent and find that the comps are just not good.  I call his dad, tell him to go ahead and fix the dang roof.  Nothing happens for a week and a half.  I get fed up and fire him. August 12th.  I take a week to cool down.

I hire Reedy on the 22nd.  On the 25th I get a couple dozen photos from him.  Still a huge pile of trash in the yard from the evicted tenants.  Waist high grass..etc.  New PM tells me on the phone the place is a "Real mess".  I think, what the HELL had PM 2 been doing?  Tenants evicted 2 months ago.  At least cut the freaking grass and get rid of the trash.

I ended up getting a citation from the county health dept!

We emailed him last week.  Tried to claim they had kept the grass cut, and someone must have just come along and dumped trash in the back yard.  Also trying to tell me it had been 2 months since they had that property under mangment.  Don't know where he gets that.  I have the email I sent firing him on the 12th.  Photos from PM 3 were taken on the 24th.  That's some mean growin Memphis grass son!

What makes me made is they lie and absolutely refuse to admit to any wrongdoing.  Yeah right, trolls dumped trash in the yard!

He later admitted he didn't think I would pay for a new roof and would rather sell.  I think this is why he let 5 weeks go by before telling me about the roof.  I think they just let the property set.  But don't freaking lie about it!

PG

P.S.  Haven't seen one dime in rent on this property since March!  Two months of it due to PM #2

P.P.S.  New roof is in place, trash gone, grass cut, siding repaired (pm2 never mentioned siding!), garage cleared out (never told about that).  Just need to paint over the african murals on the walls, new water heater, clean carpets, and should make a good rental.

Scott R. · Answer

I see no reason at all to do anything to property manager #2, he inherited the tenants and was fired 2 months later, didn't even give him time to do much imo, you leave out a lot of details
If the 2nd manager was just fired (last 30 days) what part of this was he involved in and are you mad about!? Not having the grass cut and making the property rent ready is understandable, but you make it seem as if the tenant was in place when he got the property, and you say there was an eviction, if manager #2 did the eviction for you imo he is the one who got screwed, got a trouble tenant, evicted them, then got fired!? 2 months without rent sucks, but what did he do for you to be angry at him and wanting to go after him!?

Phillip Gainey · Answer

Bought from Investor Nation.

Eddie,

You're right, nothing to recoup.  It won't take long to file a complaint.  I'm actually doing the board a favor.  I'm giving them a chance to police their own.  If they choose not to, that's their problem.

Members of the local board of realtors sign an oath to uphold their code of ethics.  If they didn't have a code, I wouldn't bother.  OTOH, reporting someone to the state licensing board is a legal issue.  Much harder to do.

Anyone can find out the status of any realtor with the local board.  I checked and the first PM recommended by Investor Nation was recently placed on the "Realtor" list.

In his case, he didn't properly screen the tenants, left the wife off the lease (she had 5 evictions on her rental history).  Tried to play dumb on the phone about her.  Didn't tell us about two leaks on the roof the tenants had complained about.  Not one word!  They claimed that was why they quit paying the rent. He then tried like hell to keep me from evicting them.  Probably so I wouldn't find out about the condition of the house (which would to have happened with tenant turnaround).  Note, I don't need to "prove" this.  Just show a preponderance of the evidence.

Now some run of the mill schmuck PM might get away with that.  But more is expected of a professional who has achieved the lofty designation of "REALTOR" with the Memphis Association of Realtors.  That is, if their Code of Ethics means anything.

PG

Ed O. · Answer

Move on from the mess. Reporting it will only steal your time from more profitable ventures. I don't know what you stand to recoup from doing so.

David Beard · Answer

Phillip, Reedy appears to be an affiliate of Memphis Investment Properties.  Why wouldn't they have been the PM company managing your rental from the outset?

Cheryl C. · Answer

I've never used a property manager.  I don't work and have plenty of time so it's hard to justify the expense.  I have rarely heard of a good experience with PM's, but I am sure there are many good ones.

I try to stay very close to home with my rentals.  I know and trust my tradesmen and contractors.  I can supervise any work and do occasional drive-by's, etc.  I do have 3 in Naples, FL but have a good handyman and long-term tenants (10+ yrs in 2 of them) and I go down there several times a year because my winter home is there and my mother and my in-laws are there.  I didn't buy them blind (well 2 were sight unseen - my mother checked them out for me).  I wouldn't be able to handle buying in an area that I wasn't extremely familiar with and that I couldn't be "hands on".  Just me, I guess.  I don't have the stomach for it.  I'd be a nervous wreck.

Phillip Gainey · Answer

Can't get rid of the property as there is more mortgage than market value.  Mainly due, IMO, to the overpriced, inadequate rehab done by INVESTOR NATION.  Unless you think needing a new roof only 2 years after a 20k rehab is satisfactory.  Yeah, we got "taken"!

Both PMs are members of the Memphis Association of Realtors.  We are filing complaints.  They have a "Code of Ethics".  First item has something to do with looking out for the best interest of the client and being truthful.  I think we have a "preponderance of evidence".  I have started the process.  If there is a hearing they can plead their own case.  Hopefully, get caught up in their own lies. One PM tried to tell me that the huge pile of trash in the BACK yard could have been put there by some rogue "dumper".  Sure!  Tell that to your board of realtors with a straight face!

I would like to reiterate that my CURRENT pm, has done it the way they are suppose to.  Within DAYS i had numerous photos of the property and it's condition of disrepair, and a list of items needing to be fixed and estimates.

PG

Silvio Brigliadoro · Answer

Phillip, PM's are a mess to deal with locally, dealing with them out of state I can't even imagine what a disaster that could turn out to be. I'm sure there are many investors here that would disagree, but unless is a cash cow, can you get rid of the property?

What would you do?

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