All Forum Posts by: Phil Earley

I personally think a medium size company with good systems and staff in place will be able to offer consistent customer service throughout the process.   

@Jered Sturm has it right.  Go visit the office and will become very clear who you want to hand the keys off too. 

Large companies are a big machine that lose the personal touch.  It's all in the name of profits. 

Mom and pop companies will have their ups and downs if there is limited staff when they are at the pta, kids baseball tournament, vacation, or home sick.   Their systems will go down when they do.  

All maintenance costs fall on the tenant or landlord at the end of the day.  There have been times we have eaten an expense if we have made a mistake.  No one is perfect.  

A proactive maintenance schedule falls on the landlord side.   A property management companies job is to be react on the landlords behalf when it comes to maintenance.   A well thought out proactive maintenance plan will save money over the course of the investment along with retaining your tenants longer.    

For example:  replacing all smoke detectors, the inside of all toilets, and all faucets every 5 years can be done in a half a day by one contractor pretty inexpensively.  If one of those items break, you know the others are getting close so fix/replace them all at one time.   Reacting to one off repairs without a proactive approach will always cost more.  

Building a property management business worked for me.  The day I learned that not every landlord was meant to be my client was the day we were able to go from good to great.   Working with all my clients instead of that one squeaky wheel is still key to this day.   

Buying a business is a faster way for income but you'll need to factor in a bigger churn rate and be ready for some baggage.   Companies over 400 clients(clients not doors) seems to be the magic number for a company to start self sustaining itself.   

Over 400 clients gets you the steady stream of income to implement the systems and staff to achieve great customer service all of the time.

I would pay the $730 and move on if the relationship is so bad assuming the tenant wants to renew. 

Anytime any of us early terminate any agreement whether its a residential lease, a car lease, a home security contract, our cable company, our gas provider, our marriage, etc....there is most likely a penalty.   

We have all ended up in a situation for whatever reason that isn't ideal even though there are 1000 other people that love it.     

Not all of us are meant to work together and that is ok.  

Property management done well can give you the financial freedom for you and your family.     

The courtroom is there to protect tenants and landlords from one another.   State/show the facts, present the notices, and the courts will come up with the right answer for the right side.     

Stay within 5 miles of where your office will be and drive the commute before you commit.  5 miles can still be over an hour if you are going from Gwinnett to Windward Parkway.

Gwinnet/Lawrenceville is one of our strongest areas for rentals.  Vacancies are low assuming the home shows nicely.    If you google population growth in Atlanta, holding it makes sense.  

Most companies should be able to disburse before the 12th of the month.  If they can't, it is most likely a lack of systems or staff so even if they agree to make exceptions for you , the odds of them being able to consistently follow through will be slim to none.    

Not all of us are meant to work together and sometimes we don't find out till it is too late. Don't renew her lease and wish her the best in a few months.   Let her know you'll miss her:)