Property Manager fired - Is now asking for payment. What to do?

Question

Hello, a few months ago I hired a property manager whom I thought would do a good job managing y property that I have in another state (Massachusetts).

i signed the contract and it had been 3 months and the property was still not rented out. I ended up firing him for many reasons:

1. Awful communication. I had a hard time reaching out to him and he was slow to respond. Would take several days to over a week.

2. One "showing" in three months time

3. Did not list my property on any of the public markets like Zillow, Trulia or redfin ( only saw it on apartmentfinder and apartment.com 🤷‍♀️). Did not give me any sort of paperwork to fill out (1099 or a link to a owners portal of some sort).

4. Lied about communicating with my existing tenant (who is a friend). Never communicated or reached out to her when he said he did on numerous occasions.

5. Never bothered to pick up the keys when she moved out for over a week even when I messaged him a few times to confirm. He said he would several times before move out date but never did.

so, I had to fire him because in today's market and especially in MA I would expect to be rented out in a few weeks but it's been 3 months. I also suggested lowering the price after a few weeks but again radio silence/poor communication.

now he has sent me a bill with a startup fee which was supposed to go to costs of any repairs and such (of which he did none because he didn't even go to the property to inspect or repair anything)...plus some marketing fees. Nearing $1000 for what I think is very subpar work on his end. I don't feel like he held his end of the contract.

Anything I can do? He is threatening to send me to collections plus put a lien on my property. It's been a week of me trying to figure out how to handle this and discuss with my friend who is a lawyer. I feel like it was a waste of my time and money. Three months is a long time for a property to be vacant.

Michael Smythe · Answer

So, why did you hire them? What screening did you do?

What lessons have you learned?

Document everything and ignore him. If he's as unorganized as you represent, how will he be organized enough to collect?

Nathan Gesner · Answer

You can withhold payment if they failed to perform. Ask them for an itemized list of charges and evidence that work was performed. If they can't prove the work was done, don't pay them.

Jon Westrom · Answer

You do not owe a dime for work that was never done... ask for an itemized bill plus proof of every showing, listing, and repair, and watch how fast the threats soften. One showing in three months and not even on Zillow is not marketing, it is neglect, and no honest manager bills you for that. I have run this business in Fort Worth for over 30 years, and the whole model only works when owners can see everything... statements, invoices, no surprise fees buried in the fine print. Keep your paper trail, loop in that lawyer friend, and do not let a lien threat rush you into paying. When you are ready to try again, find someone who treats your property like their own reputation depends on it, because it does.

Melanie Thomas · Answer

I'm sorry to hear about the difficult situation you're going through. If he's unable to provide evidence of his actions, I would advise sticking to the $500 specified in the contract and not paying any more. Considering the relatively modest sum involved, it might be prudent to resolve this before it escalates to legal proceedings. In the larger context, it's probably not worth the hassle. It appears that the Property Manager did make some attempt, albeit unsatisfactorily, as outlined in the contract you agreed to. Settling the matter and moving on is likely the best course of action. You can then focus on finding a more suitable Property Manager who aligns with your requirements. This experience can also serve as a valuable lesson in understanding what you don't want in a Property Manager. Good luck & happy investing!

Douglas Snook · Answer

It would be a lien against the real estate here in MA (I would think). Yes you would get notice of it, if it pre judgement (when the suit is first filed). The court would mark it for a hearing date before the judge as the judge would have to approve this type of attachment. The second type of judgment would be after the court case, if he won any money, he could have that judgment recorded at the registry as a lien against the property. Of course if you pay him the money, he would have to remove the lien.

This is just a general over view of the process.

Christine G. · Answer

Thank you for this info. Would I be notified either way of this ( whether it is s prejudgement or not)? What type of lien are you referring to?

Douglas Snook · Answer

Just a note about filing a "lien" here in MA. Generally he would have to sue you first and ask the court to put a lien on the property. You would get notice of this and have an opportunity to oppose the lien. The court may or may not grant it prejudgment. Then you would have a court case about what if anything you may owe him. If a court determined you owe him anything, you have the opportunity to pay the judgement which would remove the lien. If he did not get a pre-judgment lien and the court determined you owe him money, then he could record that judgment and get a lien that way.

Christine G. · Answer

I have asked for an itemized bill but he has not given me one.

i had a lawyer review the contract and actually turns out I don't owe him anything. No marketing fees, no late fees and no initial $500 fee since it wasn't even checked off.

he is threatening to send me to collections and to put a lien on my property. I'm really confused about the lien part because he hadn't done any work on my property... In fact he doesn't even have the keys to my property in order to get access to it so not sure what he's referring to. Both my lawyer and I were confused by this

Property Manager fired - Is now asking for payment. What to do?

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