What should a proper property management company do for you as a homeowner?

March 12, 2009 11:18 AM

What should a proper property management company do for you as a home owner paying them to take care of your rental property?

We hired a property mgmt company in October 2008 and they found a tenant for us. We as homeowners still take care of paying water, and garbage on the house. Since our tenant moved in, the property management company has never visited the house even once.

A month after our tenant moved in, I got a phone call from the neighbor complaining that there was a months worth of garbage stinking and drifting through the neighborhood. We called the property mgmt company and she removed the garbage somewhere. The garbage hauler has never picked up garbage at our house, I'm not sure what she is doing with the garbage. She has also got 6 full bags of compost sitting on the curb of the street since last November.

Our 6 month lease is up. I asked the guy at the property management place to go by the house for maintenance and make sure our furnace filters are being changed, batteries in fire alarms are changed and that rugs are down on hardwood floors as per our contract. He said no, he couldn't go in because he didn't have a reason to go in.

Isn't maintenance a perfect reason? If we give proper advance notice with the tenant of course. What am I paying him $80 a month for when he has done NOTHING for me? Am I wrong asking him to do that? I am not going by the tenants word, I have no idea who she is. I have no idea who is living in my house other than the background check he did on her. Is it time to fine a new property management company who will do this.

posted by Gooney to home & garden (6 comments total)

Yes, this is ridiculous and you should get a new management company, but it sounds like you already knew that...in the building where I live the management company handles all the things you mention (trash removal, fire alarm batteries, heating system maintenance, etc.)
posted by phoenixy at 11:34 AM on March 12

When we looked at renting our house, the management company offered the following services for their monthly fee, which was about double your fee:

Lawn service weekly
External visual property check - monthly
Bush and tree trimming - quarterly
Any maintenance problems reported by the tenant - immediately (within reason, after reporting it to us first)

Lease tenants, and remove them if necessary

Collect deposits, do clean up after tenants, return any unused deposits


Pretty much, they were a full service company, for about $150 a month.

I'm confused about the garbage thing. is there not a city sanitation department that picks things up every week? If so, why are they leaving garbage for 6 months? You say you're paying for garbage...so shouldn't you call the company who is supposed to pick it up, and ask them why they're not picking it up?
posted by dejah420 at 12:00 PM on March 12

FWIW, a Management Company isn't always directly responsible for everything- your contract should spell this out. For instance, in our building (a Brooklyn coop), we have porters who are contracted separately to deal with our trash, and a separate company contracted to maintain our boiler. This is all coordinated through our Mgmt. Company (who also pays the bills from an account we pay into), but at the end of the day, if there's a problem with the trash, the porters are accountable to us, not the Mgmt. Company. Now, I realize that with coops things are often unusual, but my point is that you shouldn't assume, and should check the wording of the contract.

As for having the guy go to the apt. to check on things, he's lazily pushing back with the (correct) assertion that they can't enter the property unannounced. The solution to that is to coordinate with the tenant, then tell the guy to be there at that time.
posted by mkultra at 12:00 PM on March 12

It's important with these things to get a written agreement that outlines exactly who is responsible for what. A good property management company will allow you decide what regular maintenance tasks are carried out, and how often.

So yes, fire them and find someone who'll do the job right; it may cost you more than $80 but it'll be worth it.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 12:02 PM on March 12

Yes you should get a different management company.

I rent a house from a management company, which takes care of the place on behalf of the (absentee) owner. They come by about once every 6 months just to take a look around, one assumes to ensure I'm not running a meth lab or a marijuana growing operation out of the place, and to see if there's any maintenance that needs to get done. It's pretty cursory but they did notice some things that needed maintenance on the exterior that even I hadn't noticed. (Granted, since it's not my place and I'm not responsible for the exterior maintenance, I don't look that hard.)

Your profile doesn't have a location listed but if you happen by chance to be in the DC metro area I can give you their name.

If you are not, I would shop around and ask each management company for a list of exactly what they will perform on your behalf, and make sure it specifies regular inspections or tours of the property in writing. Also, get a copy of their standard lease agreement that the tenants will sign, and make sure it gives you (as the property owner) and the management company on your behalf, access to the property upon reasonable notice, to conduct inspections, perform maintenance, and ensure fulfillment of the tenant's lease obligations. If the lease doesn't specify this, it may not matter what the management company promises you.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:02 PM on March 12

There's a great landlord Q&A forum here that you might find helpful with this and future property mgmt questions.
posted by headnsouth at 3:19 PM on March 12