All Forum Posts by: Rebecca Graziano

Just curious- does your spouse have W2 income? From where I’m standing, it’s hard for my hubby and I to keep our AGI low enough to take full benefits of owning passive RE. We ended up paying a lot more in taxes last year. 

How are you handling that?

It sounds like you have a user-related issue, and the old cast iron is different concern. New pipes won't fix people flushing random stuff down the drain.

That being said, don't use trenchless for sewer drains. Go with plastic/ABS. A good master plumber can re-route the lines and do all the work from outside/underneath the property. They last MANY years and have multiple clean outs installed to deal with clogs in the future. We just had our sewer lines replaced/re-rerouted in our home, it took about a full week. Every plumber I consulted did NOT recommend trenchless for sewer lines, only freshwater. Food for thought. Good luck!

Great point @Colleen F.! I’m definitely thinking offering incentives for December to get the ball rolling faster. 

As to PM, they didn’t say specifically. I think they were spooked by the trespassing since crime is not common, and probably don’t want to deal with the neighbors that are trespassing and stealing stuff. 

I agree @Karen F. our previous manager was terrible, so we switched in early October to big company that has multiple managers and in house maintenance staff 24/7. They totally dropped the ball by letting this continue unattended. I’ve been working with the director  of operations to rectify the issue.

He did say he didn’t want to manage it “long term”, it’s not the “type of property” they manage-weird they didn’t mention anything when we signed the management agreement and they charged their fees ;)

Great suggestions with the host bib lock! I’v ordered dummy cameras, and simply safe essential system for interior; as well as motion sensor lights and no trespassing signs. My PM will be coordinating the install of all these items this week before Thanksgiving, so I’ll monitor and report back on effectiveness. Thank you 🙏🏻 

These are all excellent suggestions! I am very much on board, what a great idea with the fake camera! There were no issues when it was occupied, so the PM just has to get a person in there.

Thanks y’all! I’ll definitely look into Simplisafe, but goal is to get it rent ready asap. This new fancy management co dropped the ball and delayed the work 16 business days so it’s been interesting dealing with them. I had higher expectations.

We are few hours away, but if we have to drive there and get this done we will. 

Hello,

I have a vacant rental property (2 months) that needs some work before market-ready again. However, there has been multiple break ins through the doors and a rear window, water is being turned on as well.

My new PM said they saw a neighbor jump the fence from our property, and then come over and talk to them? It appears they were stealing our water from the backyard with a hose.

My PM says they don't want to manage our property long-term. It's not a high-crime area, there's no drug actives or violent crime, but since it is vacant and no one has kept an eye, and the utilities are on, anything can happen. We told them to file the police report, add motion sensor lights, and no trespassing signs.

What else should I do? How do I contain this from getting worse?

Thank you,

@Patricia Steiner

Absolutely agree with the thought process. We are working on this with new PM company even though their start date is Monday, they are already in motion.

We have October rent and full month security deposit; now it’s a matter of transitioning occupancy to tenancy if they agree, and pass screening process.

Thanks for your time:)

Hi @Patricia Steiner

No I was not aware of the issue at the time I hired the new PM. There’s a 30 day notice period per the management contract, and during the transition is when the issue came up. I only found out by chance- and thank goodness I verified- again, previous PM lackadaisical communication was one of many reasons he was not suitable for our needs.

Agreed there are many options, I’d love to hear your suggestions. Thanks.