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All Forum Posts by: Drew Sygit

Drew Sygit has started 41 posts and replied 9009 times.

Post: WARNING: Do NOT use Chuck (Carmel) Mifsud or Prime Property in A2/SE Michigan

Drew Sygit
#5 All Forums Contributor
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Royal Oak, MI
  • Posts 9,291
  • Votes 5,995

How much of this is covered in your management contract?

Post: The Importance of Proper Documentation in Property Management

Drew Sygit
#5 All Forums Contributor
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Royal Oak, MI
  • Posts 9,291
  • Votes 5,995

Have had similar issues twice - once with a previous PMC and once with an owner who was self-managing before hiring us.

The amount we have to document as PMCs though - is MIND-BLOWING and owners really don't appreciate it:(

Post: Why a Triplex/Quad is not always the best investment. More units doesn't mean better

Drew Sygit
#5 All Forums Contributor
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Royal Oak, MI
  • Posts 9,291
  • Votes 5,995

Depends on the layout.

Have seen 3 & 4 units properties that were townhouse/row style with no shared space except yard and parking.

Also depends on property Class.

Class A rentals attract best tenants who usually take care of their homes, no matter the number of units.

Go down to Class C/D properties and those tenants are what you refer to.

Post: dealing with property management

Drew Sygit
#5 All Forums Contributor
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Royal Oak, MI
  • Posts 9,291
  • Votes 5,995

@Kristin Vegas you hired a one-man PMC, probably because they were cheap and agreed to let you micro-manage them.

Why are you involved in applicant screening?
- We don't allow owners to get involved and most PMCs we know don't either. We see hundreds, if not thousands, of applications annually, so who do you think has more experience at screening?

Going to guess they have no online portal and probably no website.

Are they even properly licensed to be a PMC?

You're confused about your poor choice of your PMC? Who's to blame here - you or the PMC?

Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.

Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.

Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.

Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.

In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.

It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – so, they often select the first PMC they call or that calls them back!

So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.

EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean? What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.? You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

A well written management contract should clearly spell out what is expected of both the PMC and the owner, to PROTECT both and avoid misunderstandings. Why do you think purchase contracts are so long and have such small print?

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

P.S. If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general. Take ownership of your mistake and learn to do the proper due diligence recommended above😊

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91878-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-2-communication-and-docum

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91879-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-3-the-management-contr

Post: Rent with appliances?

Drew Sygit
#5 All Forums Contributor
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Royal Oak, MI
  • Posts 9,291
  • Votes 5,995

@Evan Thomas Andriola

Depends on the proeprty/tenant Class.

Class A: we usually recommend newer/nice appliances

Class B: we recommend used appliances because tenants don't take the best care of them.

Class C/D: we do NOT recommend appliances because tenants don't clean, leading to so much caked on food/grease it's realistically not cleanable. Or they somehow break or even disappear when tenant moves out. Good luck chasing them down to try to collect as it's just not worth it:(

Post: Minneapolis Property Manager

Drew Sygit
#5 All Forums Contributor
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Royal Oak, MI
  • Posts 9,291
  • Votes 5,995

Post: Purchasing First Multi-Fam Home In The Big Apple!!

Drew Sygit
#5 All Forums Contributor
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Royal Oak, MI
  • Posts 9,291
  • Votes 5,995

@Marvell Martin if you're getting a cosigner and putting less than 10%-20% down, you'll need to go FHA.

Post: How to TurnOff Automatic Follow in Forums When You Reply

Drew Sygit
#5 All Forums Contributor
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Royal Oak, MI
  • Posts 9,291
  • Votes 5,995

@Greg Scott Many thanks!

Played with all those and none of them seemed to do the trick:(

Post: How to TurnOff Automatic Follow in Forums When You Reply

Drew Sygit
#5 All Forums Contributor
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Royal Oak, MI
  • Posts 9,291
  • Votes 5,995

Seems a couple of weeks ago this was turned on for my account, although I did NOT do it!

I've searched through the Settings and can't find anything that stops this.

What's the secret please?

Post: New, Hopeful Investor

Drew Sygit
#5 All Forums Contributor
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Royal Oak, MI
  • Posts 9,291
  • Votes 5,995

@Kayenta Saucier recommend you chat with @Samuel Eddinger as he's very knowledgeable!