Property Management incompetence

[RHarris]

It’s when shet hits the fan you know what your pm worth.

Yes this is the key. Happy to take your money for doing nothing but do absolutely nothing when things aren't simple. Oh and they love getting people around for unnecessary maintenance and repairs so they get paid again.

Still no really recourse is there? Anyone have success getting a refund from a property manager?

[Simmo]

Name 'n' shame'm

[Keys]

Question: If a tenant had moved out and obviously hasn’t been very organised. He abandoned a bunch of rubbish in the flat and left windows, doors wide open and lights fully on. What would you do when you walk in to this during inspection day?

Answer:
This would have been covered in my PM authority with the owner.

Charges to the owner for removal and storage of abandoned goods would exceed the value of the goods. Therefore, the goods are removed and dumped with costs for doing so claimed from the bond.

The tenant would have already been given a cleaning guidelines sheet to prompt them on what we require for end of tenancies.

On a different scenario, Abandonment Lock the property up and secure it. Apply immediately for possession for abandonment (don't forget to ask for three weeks in lieu of notice) with the resultant exemplary damages when the rent is in arrears.

[Avalon]

Do you have a contract? Pretty sure there are remedies under that - The lawyers on here will be able to provide advice. But there will be costs.

You may be surprised to find (I was) that you probably cant claim anything under a PM contract, because you do not, in fact, pay a charge for services. You pay a commission on rent.

Unless your contract specifically states that for this percentage of the rent, the PM will do a,b,c etc, then you cant actually claim they failed to fulfill their contract.

Also, to go to the disputes tribunal, the PM actually has to DISPUTE any claims you make. If they do what Eric Voice at Agile property Management did, and refuse to answer emails, phone calls or lawyers letters, the Disputes Tribunal will not lodge the claim. Clearly some PM's know how to work the system and avoid having to take responsibility for their incompetence and your loss.

So what can you do?

Write a blog lol. Tell every property investor you know in the area what the PM has done or failed to do. Use google, and any listings websites they are registered under to leave feedback about their practices.

Don't lie! Make sure you can back up what you say with evidence ( I have a file inches thick that the Disputes tribunal failed to lodge, but I have kept the info anyway so I can show that I am not making any defamatory or false claims about what happened).

And if you really want to make a point, get control of the property, clean it up, and charge more rent to better tenants that your failure of a PM was able to do. Making a success of their screw up, and being a better investor / landlord than they could ever hope to be (as well as a better human being) is pretty good medicine I also gave the properties to a Wellington PM company (properties in the Wairarapa) given a professional PM company a foothold in the area, instead of having to rely on a one man band or REAs. That also helped to be honest!

Hope that helps a bit.

Avalon
(Helen Winterbottom)

[RHarris]

Write a blog lol. Tell every property investor you know in the area what the PM has done or failed to do. Use google, and any listings websites they are registered under to leave feedback about their practices.

Brilliant. Good work!

[Meehole]

I would call that cyber bullying!

This posting online feedback on someone or a company backfires when the competition post bad reviews themselves.

You can't get rid of it and even it's a fabrication it will remain there for people to read forever and ever.

If the PM has a boss approach them and let them deal with it.

I do agree that there should be some sort of qualification or training for Property Management as there is in Australia and you shouldn't be able to work in the industry until you are qualified and licensed.

[PC]

PMs are often terribly bad and it's LLs who should accept a lot of the blame for this.
LLs are not demanding high enough standards from their PMs.
Complain. Shame. Fire them and support the great PMs.
But no - it's baa baa passive little sheep off to the slaughter.

The laws are skewed in favour of tenants, plus a slow kangaroo court makes property management difficult
Perhaps if PMs were paid a lot more things would improve?

[Glenn]

Yes.

https://www.reinz.co.nz/reinz/public...agers_home.cfm

I have just had a look at that site and the qualifications.
It is good to see they have now got the qualifications back up. The courses fell into a dark hole for a few years.
I wonder if it is possible to find out how many people have sat and passed the papers.

[Cassandra]

Good call!

[Hairbear1]

Over in Australia you have to get a licence to be a property manager which is good. I will be hopefully moveing back to nz and starting my own property managment company up. But am not to sure people still use Property managers or manage themselfs?

[Glenn]

Yes you are right in Australia you have to have a license. Actually it is amazing how many different things over there require a license.
The problem is what does having a "license" do for the owners and the tenants. How hard is it to get a license and what is the requirement for ongoing training.
I get sick and tired of people who use that term to print their own money by preventing or restricting competition.
You are probably better to get a license to be a pre school teacher. Now that is a decent qualification. The authorities check all sorts of things like your education and qualities.
No way do they let the wrong people into that important industry.

[Glenn]

One further thing I need to comment on. Our company has now received the updated training modules for property management.
Goodness they are comprehensive. Two of our staff had completed the previous training for property management. The Qualifications Authority still has those records on their system and the points that were awarded for them. We are just considering the best way forward now. Nothing has changed in New Zealand re the use and application of the qualifications. Clearly at the moment there is and never has been a requirement for anyone working in the industry to be qualified. I always found it strange how the industry leaders always bad mouthed any competition that was not part of their little group but never actually mentioned their own lack of qualifications to make those nasty comments.
The other strange thing was as problems came to light in the community at no stage did anyone ever draw any co relation between incompetence and training or lack of it.

[NomoneyNotalk]

Hi,

My PM is not answering call since Wednesday and the rent has been late , he said tenant promised to pay the rent on Thursday, so I asked him to send out a 14 days notice, and let me know whether the rent was paid Thursday.

But no news from him, i have texted, emailed, called him. I live overseas so it'd be good if he can tell me what's going on with the rent.

Is it common what he does? Am i the one being too pushy and demanding?

I think with this kind of service i can manage it myself when i get back to New Zealand. Saves me time calling and texting

thanks

[Glenn]

Hi,

My PM is not answering call since Wednesday and the rent has been late , he said tenant promised to pay the rent on Thursday, so I asked him to send out a 14 days notice, and let me know whether the rent was paid Thursday.

But no news from him, i have texted, emailed, called him. I live overseas so it'd be good if he can tell me what's going on with the rent.

Is it common what he does? Am i the one being too pushy and demanding?

I think with this kind of service i can manage it myself when i get back to New Zealand. Saves me time calling and texting

thanks

Regardless of the way your PM is acting or if they are incompetant or not may I assure you that tenants will act as they choose regardless of who is managing them.
Obviously the difference between the good bad and ugly is how the manager performs when the bad egg stinks. Speed and action is the big issue.
However regardless of how fast the draw is we all have to suffer the agonising wait via the courts.
This week I had one case that took 6 weeks to get to court and evict the tenant and the other one which was not urgent has taken three.
In both cases I acted as fast as the processes would let me.
In many cases managers (including me) hope for the best outcome. Often a missed week's rent is just that. One week out of good track record before and after is just another problem to solve by nudging the tenant to pay. No need to escalate the problem. Our problem is sometimes the track record is all good then silence. The rent stops like a stone.
These sudden out of character stops are the hardest to call.

[Keys]

These sudden out of character stops are the hardest to call.

Agreed. And if it is a hiccup in the tenants life then payment goes on with just a phone call. But, if the brown stuff has hit the spinny thing? Rent has stopped . . . . . .