Investor · Hampton Roads, VA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 418 votes
Looking for any recommendations for property management companies in the Hampton Roads area. Will have financing secured this week and the property search will begin.
Investor · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2012 · 244 posts · 69 votes
12y
I use Property services of Ocean View. They manage all over Hampton Roads. They have done a great job keeping my properties rented and informed of problems.
Investor · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2012 · 244 posts · 69 votes
12y
I use Property services of Ocean View. They manage all over Hampton Roads. They have done a great job keeping my properties rented and informed of problems.
Investor · Roanoke, VA · Member since 2014 · 39 posts · 11 votes
12y
Thanks Sean. There is a good chance my family will PCS in the next year and we plan on renting out our home if we get transferred out of Hampton Roads. Can you give any more specifics about their service? How much do they charge each month, and do they have a fee for placing a new tenant in the home?
Investor · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2012 · 244 posts · 69 votes
12y
They take care of as much as you want. They find, manage, do the repairs or contract them out if it is over their head. I have also had them do a repair project on a property I acquired. Carpeting, repaired a hole in the floor, cleaning etc. They have a contracting license so its all legit.
They charge me 8% fee plus repair costs. There is no charge for getting the tenant in.
Investor · Roanoke, VA · Member since 2014 · 39 posts · 11 votes
12y
Thank you so much Sean! I will give them a ring when I get closer to needing a property manager, and if you'd like would happy to tell them you referred me.
Investor · Hampton Roads, VA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 418 votes
12y
I did a little test on Thursday/Friday. I emailed (used contact form) on different property management companies. I stated I was pursuing my first property and was inquiring to their fees associated with property management.
Real Property Management Hampton Roads (Friday morning) - no reply/ called several times to new landlord extension no answer
Virginia Beach Beach Property Management (Thursday afternoon) - no reply/ called a couple of times. Either call was not answered (heard the call waiting beep) and when answered someone just said "hello"
William E. Wood (Friday evening to be fair) - no reply / did not call
Property Services of Ocean View (Friday morning) - replied Friday around 10pm/ did not call
Business must be so good that these guys don't even bother to try and get new rentals under their management. I will contact Property Services of Ocean View back to ask my questions, but the search will also continue.
Investor · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2013 · 84 posts · 26 votes
12y
@Bryan N. - I'm based in Virginia Beach and have been digging into this myself over the past few months. From what I've heard, good property managers are extremely hard to come by in our area. I've heard COUNTLESS stories exactly like the ones you shared with your test - most of the major players treat the PM work like it doesn't even matter - no returned calls, late to appts, etc.
I have't heard of the company that @Sean Ploskina mentioned - 8% is very reasonable, especially if they are doing a good job.
Professional · Tampa, FL · Member since 2008 · 26 posts · 6 votes
12y
If you're still interested in a good, fair, and competent PM, then PM me (no pun intended). My PM has been with me for about 6-7 years and I'm satisfied.
Investor · Hampton Roads, VA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 418 votes
12y
Just an update for the locals:
Real Property Management Hampton Roads (Contacted last Friday morning ) - no reply
Virginia Beach Beach Property Management (contacted Last Thursday afternoon) - no reply
William E. Wood (contacted last Friday evening) - no reply
Property Services of Ocean View (contacted last Friday morning) - replied Friday around 10pm with an email/I called as instructed on Tuesday/no return call
United Property Associates (contacted this morning) - no reply
Investor · Roanoke, VA · Member since 2014 · 39 posts · 11 votes
12y
This is making me feel more likely to sell my home for a small profit rather than keep it as a rental property. I don't think I want to be a long distance landlord, and this thread doesn't seem to paint a very good picture of 757 property managers.
Real Estate Agent · Mead, CO · Member since 2014 · 75 posts · 12 votes
12y
A note on Real Property Management. They managed my property for 2 years, and I would not recommend them at all. I moved out of state, and so did a similar search in 2011. Chose RPM because they seemed reasonable (10%) and friendly. However, my experience with them since then went downhill. When there was a major plumbing issue at the property RPM was so unresponsive and unhelpful I ended up dealing with contractors myself out of state to resolve the issue. I am sure the tenants were also fed up. From that point on my trust in them was low. I found out later that they were marking up repair costs by 20% which I did get returned when the contract ended, but the only reason why I even found out about this was I got a copy of the original contractor receipts (which they refused to provide me with) at the end of the contract and discovered that all of the bills I paid were higher than what was charged.
I also requested to customise the lease and add in some addendums which are not covered in RPM's lease. They refused.
I bided my time until the end of the contract in the second year, and cancelled it. Since then (Jan this year), I have been managing this property from CO. Luckily (I had no say on tenants) the tenants I have are great, and been on time with payments, and sending pictures when repairs have needed to be done. With modern technology, emails, scanning and telephone calls I have handled from a distance two repairs, and re-signing of the lease.
You just might want to consider managing the property yourself if you possibly can. I hated having no control over my property, and I have a hard time trusting a company to handle things that matter so much to my income!! If you want further advice, PM me!
Real property management started showing commercials on TV here. They made life look so simple. I was laughing because they never did return a phone call or email. They must have been to busy upcharging for maintenance. Yet, they were so responsive on the commercial...
Real Estate Agent · Mead, CO · Member since 2014 · 75 posts · 12 votes
12y
They weren't very responsive via phone either even when you are a client. Also I found that I was dealing with a different person for pretty much every encounter. Either they have a huge staff or they have a fast turnover!
Investor · Frederick, MD · Member since 2012 · 160 posts · 31 votes
12y
Oh wow, I am seriously looking at investing in Norfolk and would need a good competent property management company. I have had some pretty crummy experiences in other areas. Please give me some referrals!
Investor · PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 602 votes
12y
I have a good plumber in Norfolk if anyone is interested: Crosswell Plumbing.
I've had OK luck with property managers in Hampton Roads but don't expect them to necessarily have affordable or trustworthy repair-people. They're good for evictions if you don't want to show up to court yourself but I'm not sure if that justifies paying 8-10%.
I have a couple properties in Norfolk and 2-4% rule is possible there. Mostly around Berkeley, Campostella and Huntersville but sometimes closer to ODU and parts of downtown.