All Forum Posts by: Amie D.

Thanks for the opinions all!

@Bill F., it's nice that you feel that way, however at my other + previous properties the property is shown with the current tenants in. They have had no problems renting it and the vacancy is limited to the time it takes for maintenance and repairs to turnover the place, which is usually a week or less especially since they are working to deadline with new people moving in by a certain date already. There haven't always been neat freaks living there either. Unless the current tenants are hoarders or have demolished the place (at which point I'd want to know in advance anyway) the place is going to show decently. Many times it shows better with people living there and furnishings in place than totally vacant.

I would think that it is in due process of hiring that anyone would review a property manager's lease and make sure it is in accordance with state laws, if they are not using their own reviewed by a lawyer.

Sure, there is a property manager doing their job - but if it their methods are losing the owner money, something needs to change - either the way they manage your property or the pm themselves. I am interviewing another manager that was recommended to me as well as talking to the current PM further on this situation so it doesn't happen again.  

@Nicole A., in my view they "were" long term tenants - but are no longer as they are now moving out. The one souring the relationship is the one not acting in accordance to policies clearly outlined on the lease they signed as well as state law. Not much to be done now but at least I'm aware for the future. 

@Michael Noto thanks! I do consider it a success. The current tenants were actually placed by myself and another agent working together, not the current PM's. At this point I am taking it as a learning experience moving forward and will have the addendum for this situation written explicitly into future leases, as it seems Nicole A pointed out, this seems to happen frequently with others. 

@Kim Meredith Hampton, thanks, but I'm not barging in nor am I driving four hours to do so. This is what I have property managers to take care of. As I mentioned above, I'm going to have a clause written into future leases address this with fees as others have stated so it does not become a problem again. I don't deal with the tenant for the same reason - I have pm's to do that. Your giftcard suggestion is appreciated but I'm not one to pay them to go along with the terms of a lease everyone signed, especially when I suspect they are covering something up by not allowing showings of the property. 

@Wesley W., I don't realistically expect someone to occupy within 24 hours to avoid any vacancy, but the vacancy time would be lessened if we had a signed lease before the current tenants moved out, instead of waiting for them to move out, doing maintenance and then showing an empty house mid-winter to then be rented. But truly to me, they seem rather unconcerned about doing anything about it, that's true. They do not get paid when the property is vacant, however they manage quite a few properties so I'm guessing one rental vacant for a longer time due to this is no skin off their backs. I agree and do think you need to manage the manager, as I've observed with other managers in the past. I'm going to talk to them again and make sure there is an addendum to this in the future, if I do stay with them. 

@David S. and @Maricela Chavez, yes I am going to talk to them about adding this in. When they sent over the original lease they said I could add or change any addendums I wanted. 

@Colleen F., yes I am going to ask what they plan for scheduling the inspections and repairs. This is the first time I have turned over a property with this PM so it seems we are already not on the same page with things so may as well check. 

@Brian Cardwell yes at this point there isn't much to be done, but they have actually been refusing showings since shortly after they gave a 30-day notice and the property was re-listed for rent. Then when I tried contacting the property managers back, they were lagging in getting back to me about what was going on or being done about it. I'm adding the addendum and possibly hiring a different property manager who takes a different stance on enforcing the terms of the lease, so I don't end up losing monetarily next time. 

I do not think they plan to do an inspection until the walk out inspection with the tenant. When I asked the pm how they showed properties etc (the tenants were placed by an outside agent originally) it sounded like they weren’t plannng on showing until the tenant moved out anyway, and when I asked if they ever show beforehand they said “we can do it that way too.”

When they told me the tenant wasn’t allowing showings they also said the tenant suggested that some repairs they didn’t report would need to be done and the place “probably needed painting.”

I’m suspicious because when the tenants moved in they wanted to paint the interior (themselves) and I declined because they wanted to use dark purples/oranges etc and it just had been painted anyway. The pm mentioned they were upset at the time so I wonder if they painted anyway and are trying to hide that fact alongside ???

This is what I would think would be done. It seems like they are letting the tenants be the boss/have control and I find this odd.

It is written into the lease that they must allow showings with 24 hours notice and I believe that is state law as well. So they are in violation of their lease and other agents suggested to me that equates forfeiting their deposit; however the current pm company seems to be unwilling to do anything but just let them move out on the tenants desired terms. 

Thanks!  This is my frustration when the current property managers are just throwing their hands up in the air and say “there is nothing we can do” and as the clock ticks by. 

I’m going to request they add such an addendum to the next lease to spell it out. However in lieu of that I’ve also got another recommendation of a prop manager that also specializes in properties in my area. I may sell this one and don’t want this issue to happen again in that case as well. 

This is what I think should be done! But when I talked to them they just said there is nothing they can do and according to their lease they can only take the deposit for physical damages to the property. End of story. ?? 

I’m wondering who they actually represent - and if I should find another property manager at this point. They have been ok but they property is very low maintenance and has had the same tenants for five years. My other concerns are that their maintenance fees so far have been high and they also don’t represent many properties on my part of town. Their communication with me also tends to lag. 

Thank you! I live about four hours away and don’t have the literal keys - I have a property management company locally who does, and is responsible for showings etc. 

I do find it odd that they just say there is nothing they can do, though I know the tenant has dogs, and am not sure if that is part of the equation. This is very strange and I’ve never dealt with this before at any of my properties. 

I own a single family rental in Kentucky and the tenants submitted a move out notice last month for when their lease ends on Feb 28. 

They were not responsive to the property manager’s requests for showings and when queried the tenants said they are refusing to allow showings. They stated that with their move they have boxes everywhere and the wife is pregnant and so it would cause them too much stress. 

Obviously if the property cannot be shown until after they move out this will cause a longer vacancy, which costs me money. The property managers stated that the tenants are in violation of their lease but other than serve them a 30-day notice, of which they will be out sooner at this point anyway, there is nothing else they can do. 

I contested if they are in violation of their lease terms, that means they forfeit their deposit, especially since their actions are costing me money in the end. The property managers said they cannot keep the deposit for this - only if there are damages to the property itself after move out.

Has anyone else dealt with anything similar? This is at a very bad time as well because I’m looking at a new residence and investment property currently so obviously do not want the property vacant for long. 

Thanks! 

The long term income is actually in my favor, so thanks! It’s actually this odd situation in the short term vacancy that I was worried about. I do not think the house in that area would be vacant for that long in any case, at least I hope because I’ve not used these managers to find new tenants before. I find it irritating that it will be a month before anyone can even show it even though I know the current renters are moving out. 

Yeah the taxable income is tougher if they look at after tax rents - seems odd since they don’t do that with W2. 

I just called one apartment as an example and he said they would want to see the last two months bank statements with the deposits. 

Ok that would be awesome actually because that house has been rented continuously for five years and is the newest one I own. The others have been rented with just short/normal vacancies upon move-out as well. Wasn't expecting them to move out... or renting again myself, at the same time.