Experience with CityPlace Property Management?

Question

Hello all,

I’m in the process of vetting CityPlace to manage a small multi-family portfolio in Indy. During a recent consult, they walked through a listing with me over the phone and provided a very honest critique of the property’s risks. As an out-of-state investor, that level of transparency and no-BS approach is exactly what I’m looking for.

Before I sign on, I’d love to hear from anyone with experience using them in the last 12–18 months. Does their day-to-day execution live up to that initial transparency? Specifically, I'm interested in:

• Maintenance: How is their coordination and cost-effectiveness? Do they have a heavy markup on their in-house team vs. outside vendors?
• Leasing: How efficient are they at filling vacancies in small multi-family (2–4 units), and what is the quality of their tenant placement?
• Communication: How responsive are they to OOS owners once the "honeymoon phase" of onboarding is over?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

-Matthew

Josh C. · Answer

It’s been a few days so was hoping one of the several clients we have on this forum would jump in, but we are all too busy shoveling snow I guess. 😆

As one of the two owners of CityPlace I’d be happy to give you some additional information about us. We’ve been servicing the Indianapolis market exclusively for 11 years, which helps us really know our market managing so many properties in such a small radius. I’d say at least 20% of our tenants actually applied to a different property that already had an application further along so couldn’t get their first choice and we guided them to another one of our properties. We have had essentially zero client loss over those 11 years that wasn’t due to sale. We as owners are still very active in the business which translates to more attention to the quality of service to both tenants and clients more than a company with absentee ownership like a national pm company or turnkey operator. We have a brokerage arm, but it is does low volume and almost no retail business. Property management is well over 90% of our business.

As far as maintenance and turnover costs, there is no obligation to use us, but clients do get outside quotes frequently and we are usually the low number. Even the local owners with more options almost always use us unless it’s a “I have a brother who’s a ……” situation.

Let’s us know if you have any questions and thanks for thinking of us.

Drew Sygit · Answer

You should be able to research all this on their website and via their management agreement/contract.If you can't find it in those places, you MUST get it in writing from them, preferably ADDED to their management agreement/contract.MAINTENANCE: are they charging by the hour or job? What invoices do you get, from contractors or just theirs where they hide their markup?

LEASING: what is their marketing plan for vacancies? How many do they have on Zillow for how long? FYI: SFRs usually rent faster than MFR, so compare apples-to-apples.COMMUNICATION: How do they track their call KPI's - both percent answered and percent returned within 24 hours?

Owners get screwed when they ASSUME and don't get it in writing in the agreement/contract.

Matthew Bonaski · Answer

Thanks for jumping in, Josh.

It's great that an owner stays this engaged on the BP forums. Hopefully you are all staying safe and warm in the weather out there!

-Matthew

Peter Mckernan · Answer

I agree this should be all in their agreement that they send you. Also, you can ask them to share some client's contacts with you that they have had and still have so that you can call them and get some real life experiences from them too. That is a great example of being able to really hear what they have going on and what this company is doing after you sign a contract.

Matthew Bonaski · Answer

Thank you for the reply, Peter. I’ve reviewed their agreement, but as many on BP know, there can often be a gap between what’s on paper and day to day execution. Given the risks of OOS investing, I’m specifically looking for boots on the ground feedback from investors who have seen their maintenance and communication workflows in action over a longer period. Contracts tell you the rules, but I'm looking for the track record.

Drew Sygit · Answer

$60 flat fee for what?

FYI: the PMC industry has proven, over & over again, that PMCs that do NOT charge for maintenance, either offer poor service or go out of business.

On the other hand, many PMCs hide their markups on maintenance in their hourly rate or by hiding the contractor's invoice they receive and only sending you their invoice.

Matthew Bonaski · Answer

Thank you for the reply. Those are excellent questions and definitely points I’m cross-referencing against their management agreement.

I’m specifically trying to verify if their actual performance matches their contract. For example, they offer a very competitive $60 flat fee and a $500 maintenance spend limit. On paper, that looks great for a small multi-family portfolio, but as an OOS investor, I want to hear from someone who has seen theback end of that, specifically if the in house maintenance costs remain competitive or if the $500 fix-first protocol leads to any surprises on the monthly statements.

I'm looking to confirm if the day to day execution is as transparent as the initial consult suggested.

Thanks

Experience with CityPlace Property Management?

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