I can share my first-hand experience. They have a very large organization and manages hundreds of properties. I went ahead and took a chance on having them rent one of my properties and all I can say is to be very careful about having them manage your properties because they will have no qualms hiring service people for everything and, as the owner, you will get charged top dollar for everything. For example, if the lawn is mowed, the price was double the normal amount that I've had the lawn mowed in the history of the property. While it is vacant, they have regular cleaning done every 2 weeks whether you need it or not. I had only one showing and was charged every two weeks, of course. I visited the property and it was spotless...yet I got charged for cleaning on a vacant property that same week. With hundreds of properties in the management, it is a large customer service type of setup so you never talk to the property manager, but rather a client representative only. They do have friendly customer service reps, however.
Also, be aware that the property manager will never actually visit the property to check on it. They told me that this isn't to their best interest and found that it didn't really make a difference so they don't check on property (ever) except maybe a drive-by. Therefore, any calls they get from tenant just goes to a vendor who charges whatever they feel like--pretty easy managing...just answer the phone then farm out the work and charge the owner. They are too big to pay your property much attention or try to save you money so everything is just hired out to vendors who charge top dollar.
So just be careful that your costs are totally out of your control. Also, as an owner, you are not allowed to do anything to help save yourself money...you cannot hire anyone cheaper or do anything yourself. I've never been charged so much money ever by a property management company.
One good thing is that they were able to find a tenant who signed a lease for 3 years, so we'll see how that goes.
@Brandon Shindler I've never worked with JWB but they are one of the larger players in the area. I have had terrible experiences reaching out to their property managers regarding rentals and making offers on dispositions of theirs.
That being said they may just not like working with other agents.
Hello. I am currently working with JWB. They have great customer service and I was very pulled in by their desire to build a long-term relationship with their investors. In a podcast, they mentioned how typical property managment companies collect first month's rent as a tenant placement fee. I was surprised to read that JWB still does collect first month's rent as a tenant placement fee.
I received an email from JWB yesterday saying not to be alarmed, when in fact the situation was quite alarming. One of the tenants passed away, and they had to vacate. They were a few months in to a two year lease. About $1,300 is being done on the turnover and JWB will be collecting a tenant placement fee. Not too happy about the situation as I was just starting to enjoy the passive income. The situation has also put a sour taste in my mouth and I am reluctant to invest with other turnkey properties. I will continue to update with the progress of the situation.
All in all, they have a great motto to "underpromise and overdeliver," unfortunately, it's been the other way around.
I was upset that I would have to pay the tenant placement fee again since there was a break in the lease. However, after further communication, JWB told me they would be covering the placement fee since it was a unique situation. Not something they would normally do, but a gesture they wanted to make because the situation happened so new in the game.
JWB charges first month's rent for the tenant placement fee. While doing my research on turnkey properties, I've seen one month to half of one month's rent, and somewhere in between.
While it was an unfortunate circumstance, I have been extremely happy with JWB and their customer service. Courtney, Mike, and Gregg do a great job of walking me through the situations and explaining any questions and concerns I may have. Gregg also pointed out to me that I am still on track to meet my ROI.
JWB placed a tenant and charged one month rent as tenant placement, one of the tenants died (extremely unusual and not something they could have foreseen), the surviving tenant broke the lease and left, JWB did the turnover, JWB placed a new tenant at no charge.
Is that correct? How much do they charge for ongoing management of the property?
Now, they are saying they are not waiving the tenant placement fee. They originally said they were using the security deposit to fund the turn-over and I would get the remainder; that in the end, I might end up with more money. Now they're saying, nope, it's going to the tenant placement fee. They get two in a span of a couple of months, when I wasn't planning on paying a second for two years because I bought the property with a tenant in place for two years.
Bad miscommunication on their part.
My part, it would be better to purchase properties that charge less rent. Second, when working with a new turnkey property, I will start by purchasing only one property.
Partly correct @Joey Hamaoui. There is still no new tenant in place. Old tenants left July 10 and have not paid July rent. JWB is charging me the tenant placement fee.
@Rebecca K. 10% seems to be fair market rate here. The property manager I've partnered with for our turnkey projects charges 10% typically with 1/2 of first month's rent for tenant placement. I'm not sure what his policy is regarding tenant placement if the tenant leaves early. I am going to ask him. I feel it's unfair to charge a regular tenant placement for such a scenario but at the same time I understand they have to spend a bit of money and some time to place a new tenant so I'm ok with them getting paid as long as the lease wasn't broken for something they should have caught during the screening process.
@Rebecca K. thanks for this update. Sorry about the issues your having with JWB. I have looked at JWB myself as I thought they may be a good option for me as I'm getting started. When speaking with Greg Cohen he made a comment that since I live in Jax would I ever want to visit the property, which I found to be an odd question. I mentioned that the only time I would want to visit was when the property was vacant, and he quickly said that wouldn't work for them. He basically said the owner would slow down the process of turning the property over if they showed up at the property. Really strange comment, and I actually thought I miss understood what he said. I explained that all I would want to do is simply walk the property, and he said that really doesn't work for them. He was very nice, and professional on the phone so I was very surprised with this statement. I was ready to do something with them until he made that comment, and now seeing your post kinda makes me glad I passed with them.
Good luck with your property, and I hope everything works out for you.
That is really odd, Jim, especially since they offer up to $1,000 in reimbursement of travel expenses to investors to come and tour Jacksonville and their offices.
Things are still dicey on my end. The unit is still vacant and my other unit has had some maintenance work that will eat up the majority of my cash flow (after the mortgage is covered). It kind of irritated me further because they told me they cover the first six months of maintenance (not something they put in writing but just a nice gesture they make). I was told it's not part of maintenance. Actions and words aren't lining up. I'm just trying to have faith that it will work out. I've also learned my lesson to have inspections done from now on before acquiring a property. It's interesting JWB didn't suggest this.
I'd definitely love to hear what your property manager would do in this situation. You're right, 10% is about standard. The tenants vacated on July 10 and hadn't paid July rent yet. I'd be interested (which I should be able to find out) how long it took JWB to reach out and say, "Hey, where's the rent?"
I have a bad taste for turnkey properties at the moment but if you work with one, I'd always be interested in researching them. Thanks. :)
These are some very sharp guys. My wife has sold some vacant land to them as she represented the owners. I went to Than Merrill's training with Alex and some of the original guys. Smart and sharp people, I have a friend who is working for them, got out of the big bank churn, but these guys are pretty savvy about their deals. Its a good system for them.
Did anyone have any trouble selling their property after JWB sold them the property? Are these in decent areas?
One alarm for me was that they aren’t ready to give me info on the tenant which would mean I don’t know anything about the tenant vandalizing the property or if they are cutting the lease short etc which would burn more money from my pocket?
They seem genuine per the reviews but these are the concerns I had
Haha. The drama that keeps on giving. One of the properties I bought through JWB had its property taxes increase from roughly $900 to $2,500. When JWB sold me the property, they gave me just the proposed tax liability of the the land because it was new construction. Novice move on my part, but sleazy on their end to entice a new buyer. I hate giving negative reviews but this issue popped up past the time of transitioning away from JWB to new management.