All Forum Posts by: Greg Weik

Colorado State Representative Ruby Dickson did email me back...  my response to her (which I'm sure will not be answered) is in her text below:

On Thu, Mar 16, 2023 at 11:21 AM Rep. Ruby Dickson wrote:

 I find @April Mattin's experience eye-opening.  Our clients aren't involved with any part of property management.  Things like whether a tenant has a key on move day (we use digital door locks anyway) and having to buy lockboxes... these are things clients should not be burdened with. 

@Torrey De Armas, you have some premises in your post that don't add up.  $1250 "listing fee" to take photos and list a property is certainly not much of a value proposition if that's what's being charged.  Contrast that with our $500 leasing fee which is only paid to us after we've done the marketing, video tour, showings, found tenants and actually rented the property.  We also show properties in person, whereas I believe Nomad uses the "unattended showing" approach.

I can't speak for everyone, but my clients seem to really value the fact that RES handles everything for them.  There is no a-la-carte management with us.  We don't "help with repairs and vendor sourcing", and frankly I don't know what that means.  Part of the job of a PMC is to own every aspect of property management and to see things through. This includes finding and vetting vendors, following up on estimates and completed work, and making sure turnover is as quick and painless as possible.  

Also, our fee is 7% but capped at $149.  Most of our clients pay us $149 and they get full service management. 

Interestingly, in the past few years that I've been watching Nomad, their reviews have gone from a solid 5.0 on Google (mostly fake I assume) way down to a 4.2 now.  Recent reviews are packed with 1 star experiences with the company.  I take reviews with a grain of salt, but it looks to me like as I posted here a year ago, gimmicks are not a recipe for longevity in property management. 

 Hey @Drew we use Propertyware as well and find it to be pretty customizable.  Do you make use of custom fields?  They are the backbone of our operation and one of the main reasons we won't switch to Appfolio (no matter how much they hound us lol)

Hi @Ray Os, my understanding of case law (not statutory, nothing is currently codified as far as I'm aware) is that the maximum "enforceable" penalty for a residential lease break in Colorado is the equivalent of two months' rent. 

You need an ITF in your lease.  An Improper Termination Fee.  Do not call it rent, it's a lease break fee.  

In our case, the ITF is the equivalent of a security deposit plus one month's rent.  In the lease, it's just a number, but this is how it's calculated. 

In the event of a lease break, you claim the security deposit towards the ITF and send the tenant a security deposit claim form informing them they owe the balance of that ITF.  If you place good tenants they will generally pay the balance of the ITF.  

In our experience, the ITF is almost always more than enough to make the client whole.  Hope that helps!

Hey @Jose Raya what's your goal, exactly?

I'd be happy to chat with you - I own (and I'm the employing broker for) a rapidly growing PMC in Centennial (we add about 200 doors per year), managing doors from Colorado Springs up to Fort Collins and all places in between. 

We are also about to start selling franchise units.  Feel free to message me and we can see if it might be a good fit, depending on what your long-term goals are. 

We already see tenants skirting pet fees, deposits, and pet rent by having Emotional Support Animals (ESAs). 

All property managers know that the ESA industry has exploded in the past 10 years and shows no signs of slowing down.  More and more tenants are realizing they can simply go online, pay $70 on a website, and get a letter from a medical professional prescribing their pet as an ESA. 

Having an ESA already opens up every property to a tenant, whether it's listed as pet friendly or not, and with no fees or deposits. 

Like most legislation that has been passed in recent memory, this will only serve to negatively impact the very same tenants the legislators are claiming to be trying to protect.  

Legislatively eliminating pet fees/deposits/rent will ultimately lead to higher overall costs to all tenants for all properties, either with higher rents or higher security deposits.  Should this pass, it will have the opposite of the intended effect, though the effects may be somewhat blurred from the tenant's perspective, as those effects are spread out across entire rental markets and inventories. 

Sales listings are sitting on the market and your clients probably don't want to make another price drop. 

We have a Real Estate Solution: Let's convert those properties over to rentals, as a win-win for everyone.  We manage properties from Colorado Springs, to Denver, up to Fort Collins, and all locations in between. 

We will place excellent tenants (a 700 credit score is our standard minimum), and manage the property effectively.  Your client will have income quickly, their mortgage will be paid, the property well-cared for, and you can have the listing back when it comes time again to sell. 

Best of all, we will pay you $500 when we rent the property as a thank you for the business.  

Discuss this with your sales clients, send them to our website for our pricing and service details, and have them check out our Google Reviews.  When they hire us, they will name you as the referral source and we will send out your check as soon as the property is rented!  303-586-5560  [email protected]. 

@Amal Bhatnagar, I think you are wise to seek out professional management.  Yes, it costs money. 

But the residential property management industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, not because as @Charles Carillo puts it "they are just calling their own handyman" but because there is incredible value to be added when you hire a good PM. 

-PM Leasing - should not be done by a "realtor on the ground."  They will have no idea what they are doing, what they are looking for, or likely the laws surrounding credit reporting. 

-PM Marketing - should be good enough to reduce days on market significantly. 

-PM Turnover processes - again, designed around reducing days on market and limiting landlord exposure/liability. 

-PM -The lease itself - you're unlikely to have a bomb-proof lease if you buy it online.  PMs know what needs to be in the lease, and that constantly changes with legislation. 

-PM -Cashflow - people hire PMs specifically to INCREASE cash flow, not to decrease it.  It's not a luxury, any more than hiring and paying a CPA or an Attorney are luxuries.  Good PM makes you more money than you could on your own. 

But to your question - I would check Google Reviews as a good starting point.  Check out all of them for a company and try to see if a pattern emerges.  Are they consistently accused of being unresponsive?  Are they consistently praised for renting properties quickly?  Do they respond to their reviews?  The company culture matters, that's a big part of what you're hiring.   

Hey @Jason Eiceman, in our market (greater Denver) that decision often comes down to the price point and demographic for your rental property.  Our analysis breaks down as:

-Higher-end property, we suggest w/d hookups only. 

-Lower-end property, we suggest leaving them for the tenants as a value add. 

You can add a clause in your lease requiring dryer vent cleanout/maintenance to be done by the tenant.  Those vent wands that attach to a drill are cheap at Home Depot. 

As you alluded to, keeping them in the property will mean two more items to worry about covering if they break, fail or even "seem to fail" as is the case with a dryer that "doesn't dry fast enough"...  Keep in mind also that tenants can be very hard on washers and dryers that are not theirs.  

I don't suggest leaving them "as-is."  This is often a deterrent to would-be tenants and would paint you as the kind of landlord who may try to get out of fixing other things.  Also, "as is" really needs to be clearly spelled out.  Can they sell the w/d on Craigslist the day they move into the property?  Do they have to store them if they break?  Do they need to keep them and get them fixed?  

Last - if you are going to keep them, I would suggest exploring a reputable home warranty that will cover their repair and possibly replacement.  I don't like American Home Shield (but maybe they're better in your area), but there are a few home warranty companies that could add some peace of mind.  

Nothing is simple in property management lol :) 

@Daniel Lao, a few things

-Your PM is right in the sense of accepting rent while the 10 day notice clock is ticking, voids that particular 10 day notice.  If you want to accept the rent, you need to immediately re-deliver an updated 10 day notice. 

-Section 8 properties have specific rules to deal with non-paying tenants.  You need to reach out to the tenant's section 8 case manager first. 

-Best bet is what @Kelly Sennholz said - simply non-renew.  Your tenant is on a month-to-month lease, so give them notice and non-renew.  If they fail to vacate, it's probably going to be a much more straightforward eviction for failure to vacate, vs. partial rent paid/unpaid over time.  You do not need cause to end a lease (month-to-month or at the end of a long-term lease.) 

Good luck!