I DM'd you a list of Cleveland referrals that include Property Management. 

Thank you! 

Elena-  You may also wish to visit NARPM.org.  It is a trade group for management companies specializing in residential property management. 

Hello!

I've had Shoreway Realty Group as my PM for the last 4 1/2 years.  They're also local.  

Talk to Andrew Weiner at Realty Now Property Management in Beachwood Ohio.  He manages well over 100 units for us.

Thank you!

'

Joshua, do you mind sending me that list as well?  I am also looking for a good PM in Cleveland.  Thanks.

Hello Elena, 

If you go to NARPM.org, you will be able to search residential property management's by city. I've heard this makes the search a bit easier for investors! 

 Hi,

Can you please DM me as well?

Thanks!

@Joshua Janus I am also looking for a Property Management company in Cleveland, OH would you mind sharing recommendations?

@Elena Fabri

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.

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”:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processes

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😊

Hey Elena.  My team are looking to invest in Cleveland.  I was wondering if you found a good PM.

 Hi, could I ask for a DM as well? 

Could I ask for the list too?

 Sent!

 Didnt see it if you sent it to me. Nothing in my inbox/

Uri Gofman, weren't you and Alexander "Alec" Vinokur from Realty Now all involved in an indictment for mortgage fraud?   Why WOULD you hire another property management company?

"The defendants siphoned off more than $31 million in profits from their criminal enterprise. Eventually, 358 of the homes fell into foreclosure.

The following 11 defendants were indicted on mortgage fraud-related offenses including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first degree felony:

Uri Gofman, Tony Viola, Igor Gofman, Kevin Landrum, Dave Pirichy, Dale Adams, Steve Greenwald, George Gardner and James Leoni along with Real Asset Fund, owned by Uri Gofman, and Karka Inc., also owned by Uri Gofman. The other 34 defendants were indicted on mortgage fraud-related offenses.

http://www.mortgagefraudblog.c...

 Can you please send me the list of property management companies in Cleveland also?

Thanks

 Tony Viola was exonerated of all charges and deserves ten years of his life back for a crime he did not commit.  Others may have been wrongfully accused. 

Tony Viola was exonerated of all charges and deserves ten years of his life back for a crime he did not commit. Others may have been wrongfully accused.

Don't use Shoreway Realty. Where do I start with the headache they are?

Cleveland passed stricter rental registration requirements over the last year, and Shoreway did not order the needed lead testing or HVAC testing to meet the required deadline, and when I asked if they had ordered such since the city sent me a letter, they have no timeline to! They filed incorrect and invalid registrations with the city. Huge red flag to not have your management company up to date on the local regulations, that leaves me as the owner in a very bad position. Then their professional advise was to not do the required lead testing and to register myself as the in-area contact even though I live 2,000mi away, which clearly goes against the rules of the law. Now they also won't let the property transfer to the new manager for 30-days even though I found a management company willing and able to correct the issues immediately, and offered to let Shoreway keep the following month management commission for the 1 week that would be under their management anyway.

Unit turnovers have been way too slow, usually taking 3 months just to get rent-ready (all cosmetic, no mechanical replacements). One they took 6 months to do! On the last one the contractor said they would be finished by December, deadline passed so I asked for progress photos from the management company since the contractor from their vendor list kept delaying in sending them. When I responded to the photos with some questions I got a lecture from the owner, Kathleen Bassett, how the person who had taken them was her highly paid bookkeeper who was doing a favor. They take 10% for all managed construction, so this is not a favor to ask for progress inspection on a project that was behind schedule several weeks, and was a vendor from their list. It is their job! Also, I didn't ask the bookkeeper to be sent out, send someone with construction knowledge. Overall just find she is very arrogant, don't let the fake schmooze fool you.

I also go out once a year to check properties. Their landscaping personnel constantly let the ivy grow up the side of the house, which costs money to pull and damages siding, versus being at all preventative in pulling the ivy when it is small which is what every gardener I hire in the area I live does. I raised this issue several times and it never changes. They don't follow basic instructions. I asked for concrete expansion joints to be sealed, very specific, and then they emailed me back and asked it the cracks should be sealed AS WELL! I said yes. When I got the repair photos they only did the cracks, not the expansion joints, and then wanted to charge me more to quote the expansion joints. This type of so-called "miscommunication" has happened on several occasions with other repairs even though instructions are in-writing.

I regret not firing Kathleen Bassett and her team at Shoreway Realty sooner, but finally done! Save yourself the headache!