Trash fines from property

[Ken Eck]

I am an OOS investor. Last month I received a notice from the city of Milwaukee regarding trash and litter at the property. Being OOS it was already about a week after the fact.

I promptly send the notice to my Property manager who says they’ll take care of it. Well last week the I received another notice from the city but this time it is a fine.

I again sent the notice to my property manager and was told “we will contact the city and ensure the city sends us the notices and not you.”

I then asked who is going to pay the fine. And was told “ if the city doesn’t waive it it’ll go on your property tax bill for the year.” My response was;

“I will not be the one responsible to pay the fine as I reported the incident over a month ago and it never was resolved.

This was either due to a lack of oversight on your company’s part as the PM or the tenant is responsible for not following their lease in regards to trash and rubbish on the property.”

Was this an appropriate response to my property manager? From everyone’s experience what is the likelihood they pay the fine?

[Karl B.]

I think your response is appropriate. Either the tenant (who made the mess) should be billed by the PM or the PM can pay it because they didn't fix the issue despite having plenty of time to do so after you made them aware. 

If the PM gives you push-back then find a different PM company with some sense who takes care of issues in a timely fashion.