Property manager service (real estate, rentals, houses)

[cityfam]

I checked real estate forum but couldn't find the answer and decided to use some brains in my favorite forum.

We have rentals in a different state and hired a property manager since we had to move to NOVA. Last month we got both rentals plumber's work done (kitchen sink faucet replacement and outside faucet dripping fixed). Here is the question, each bill showed labor cost AND service call and the material cost was way high (twice more than Lowe's price). Should we suck it up and not say anything to the manager to keep a good relationship? FYR, both rentals are pretty new SFhouses.

As always your comments/advice are very, very appreciated. I learn alot from you all. Thank you.

[VRE332]

start asking for receipts. Sounds like someone is screwing you on the material.

[janie01]

I used to work for a property management company. As a client, you should always feel free to question anything on your bill. I do know that working with vendors can be a nightmare, which is why property managers usually have their favorites that they feel they can rely on, and why they discourage clients from wanting to use their own. If that were the case, depending on how many properties the company managed, they would be dealing with hundreds and hundreds of different vendors that may or may not live up to their standards. However, as a client you are always free to say that you want to use a particular vendor. The property manager should abide by your wishes providing you understand that it is not their choice. The property manager I worked for would be furious if he felt any bill by one of his vendors was inflated, so he understood if a client questioned it. He also never made any profit off any of the work that was ever done on any of his properties. He would tell the vendors to pass any savings on to the client. That all being said, talk to your property manager. The bill may be completely legitimate or the property manager may want to look for a new vendor. Good luck!

[cityfam]

Thank you all. The Property manager sent me an email back in a rather blunt and upset tone when I questioned about the bill and told that he would use a contractor of our choice. Regarding service call charge, Janie01, is it standard to charge as well as labor cost? When we hired a plumber or an electrician on our own, they never did when they actually worked on things they came to check.

[janie01]

I think it depends on the vendor if they have a service call charge, but I think it is pretty standard. Sorry your property manager was upset, but he may have had a bad experience using owners vendors before. One of the hardest things about working in a property management company was dealing with the vendors. Even the ones that we used all the time and trusted, problems would still arise. The PM has to make sure the clients (owners) are happy, while still being fair to the tenants and vendors. However, you should still feel that you can question your bill without getting an attitude from your PM. If there are too many complaints about a particular vendor, the PM needs to figure out what's going on. It's in his best interest as well as yours to do so. I always felt it was good to have some women in the office because they understand that it isn't easy trusting someone with your investments when you live far away. But if you trust your PM, it is a good feeling to know everything is in good hands, and sometimes you just have to have faith that the PM is making the right choices.

[cityfam]

Originally Posted by janie01

I always felt it was good to have some women in the office because they understand that it isn't easy trusting someone with your investments when you live far away. But if you trust your PM, it is a good feeling to know everything is in good hands, and sometimes you just have to have faith that the PM is making the right choices.

I totally agree with you. Any human relationship, either personal or professional, building trust is foundation to its success. My dilemma was, at least in this early stage (he's been our PM only since last Nov) not give the indication of mistrusting him without any ground while not wanting to be taken advantage of.

[janie01]

I think it's wonderful that you don't want to indicate to your PM that you mistrust him, but you need to voice your concerns. I thought that maybe you knew him for years, but if it's only been a few months, you need to follow your instincts. Unfortunately, there are PM out there who may not be trustworthy, just like in any other business. He (or she) works for you, so don't back down if you feel something isn't right. If need be, you can talk to the vendor yourself, a pain because the reason you hire a PM is so you don't have to deal with that stuff. The air has to be cleared in order for you to continue the relationship.