Property Manager · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2016 · 15 posts · 3 votes
We manage a lot of properties for owners who don't live here and I'm curious what others are dealing with. Is it finding good tenants, contractors, city notices, or just knowing what's actually going on at the property? What made you happy or unhappy with your PM?
On the lender side of this, the one I see hurt out of state owners most is not knowing what's actually going on at the property. It usually surfaces when they refinance or buy the next one. Lenders commonly ask for current leases and proof the rent is actually being collected, and the appraiser walks every room, so deferred maintenance the owner never heard about turns into a lower value or a repair condition. City notices bite the same way, since an open violation or unpaid municipal charge can show up in the title work and hold up a closing. Asking owners this directly is the right instinct. A PM who sends photos and a clean rent ledger every month is quietly making the owner's next loan easier, and most owners don't realize that until they need it.
@Noah Wright great point, I never thought about it from the lender side. Going into an occupied house every month is too much for the tenant, but a property condition check once or twice a year with photos makes sense. Section 8 units already get inspected once a year, so for those the owner gets that anyway.