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I'll be a first time landlord, planning on going abroad for a while. I want to leave the rehab of my house to be handled by a PM. So I'm thinking of literally vacating my house, handing the keys to a PM, letting her get the estimates, approving the work, and then having her oversee it.
I'm wondering what happens if something goes wrong, though. Do I have any legal recourse if she mishandles the rehab? I'll be so far away so I know I will probably feel quite helpless. Any advice?
I got a bit of a bad feeling when I suggested waiting on having the ceilings scraped and she said, "It's best to do them now, before having the flooring replaced, because *something* always gets messed up when ceilings are scraped." I was thinking, "Isn't it your job as a good PM to make sure things *don't* get messed up?" Similarly, when discussing whether to leave the washer/dryer, she said, "Well, if you leave the ones that are already in the house, that'll reduce dings on the walls from the tenants moving theirs." Again, I don't know if I'm dealing with a "slacker" PM here, or if this is standard for PMs. I don't yet have a contract with her and could choose someone else.
Also, I live in a state where arbitration clauses seem to be included in the standard contract. Does anyone have experience with PMs being open to having that clause removed?
1. by what you posted, she knows a heckuva lot more than you. In both examples:
a. when you scrape popcorn ceilings, they are a huge mess. you do them first, then any painting or floor work. when you clean a room, do you vacuum or mop first, and THEN dust the ceiling corners?
b. if you supply the tenants with W/D, that's a perk, aka more money $ to you. As she noted, it also means less wear and tear from non-movers jamming things down hallways and into tight laundry spaces.
2. the contract you AGREE TO with her will spell out what your recourse is. You found this person somewhere - either she has the experience to do it right, or you're just a naturally pessimistic person who thunks anyone would botch it, and you need to be protected. There is no "standard" contract between individual parties.
Pick the best person you can find for the job, then leave him/her to do the job you hired them to do. It is on you to choose a good PM. To help you feel comfortable, have her send photos and invoice copies as they are created.
I'll be a first time landlord, planning on going abroad for a while. I want to leave the rehab of my house to be handled by a PM. So I'm thinking of literally vacating my house, handing the keys to a PM, letting her get the estimates, approving the work, and then having her oversee it.
I'm wondering what happens if something goes wrong, though. Do I have any legal recourse if she mishandles the rehab? I'll be so far away so I know I will probably feel quite helpless. Any advice?
I got a bit of a bad feeling when I suggested waiting on having the ceilings scraped and she said, "It's best to do them now, before having the flooring replaced, because *something* always gets messed up when ceilings are scraped." I was thinking, "Isn't it your job as a good PM to make sure things *don't* get messed up?" Similarly, when discussing whether to leave the washer/dryer, she said, "Well, if you leave the ones that are already in the house, that'll reduce dings on the walls from the tenants moving theirs." Again, I don't know if I'm dealing with a "slacker" PM here, or if this is standard for PMs. I don't yet have a contract with her and could choose someone else.
Also, I live in a state where arbitration clauses seem to be included in the standard contract. Does anyone have experience with PMs being open to having that clause removed?
I'm not sure if your PM is the best person to leave in charge of a rehab, but I can see her rational on the comments she has made, and that in no way means she is a "slacker". We often handles rehabs for clients who may be out of town and have had no issues, but we are typically preparing the property for sale.
Scraping ceilings is a MESSY job. I would advice the same thing...if you are going to scrape popcorn off ceilings, its smart to do it prior to installing new flooring.
Common sense tells you that a tenant is often times not going to care for you home like you have. You can have the best property manager on the planet, but he/she cannot control the daily goings on in that property. Again, just prudent advice IMO.
As far as removing the arbitration clause, every real estate contract I have seen has an arbitration clause. That is pretty standard.
Last edited by LCTMadison; 02-28-2018 at 05:32 PM..
As a property manager, I would tell you that you needed to hire a general contractor to oversee this property rehab. Then, when it’s rent ready, I would come get photos and market the property for a tenant.
I'll be a first time landlord, planning on going abroad for a while.
I want to leave the rehab of my house to be handled by a PM.
Don't. Don't leave a "rehab" in the hands of anyone.
And don't leave the country until it's done... or wait until you get back to start.
Next up is to firm up what 'handled' means to you.
It sounds like you need a general contractor to run the job.
You might -probably do- need an architect to make the plans the GC will follow.
OP if you really want to just turn the job over to someone else and leave on vacation, you should be focused on the results. Instead it seems to bother you that the PM has different opinions about how to proceed.
I'm not seeing a good outcome here. You either trust the person or you don't. If you want to manage the project you have to stick around and do it, not stress because the person you put in charge isn't doing things the way you want.
Make sure whomever you hire uses license contractors so you have recourse if anything is not done correctly. Anyone can oversee the project, most license property managers are careful to use licensed people to limit their liability.
Not worth saving a few bucks and hire unlicensed people, contracts with license have bonds and insurance that protects the home owners.
Ask them is they verify the licenses of the people they hire, ask the PM to get a copy of their insurance policy too. Then you have little to worry about, issues won't fall on the PM but the licensed experts if you run into issues down the road, it protects you both.
I'll be a first time landlord, planning on going abroad for a while. I want to leave the rehab of my house to be handled by a PM. So I'm thinking of literally vacating my house, handing the keys to a PM, letting her get the estimates, approving the work, and then having her oversee it.
I'm wondering what happens if something goes wrong, though. Do I have any legal recourse if she mishandles the rehab? I'll be so far away so I know I will probably feel quite helpless. Any advice?
I got a bit of a bad feeling when I suggested waiting on having the ceilings scraped and she said, "It's best to do them now, before having the flooring replaced, because *something* always gets messed up when ceilings are scraped." I was thinking, "Isn't it your job as a good PM to make sure things *don't* get messed up?" Similarly, when discussing whether to leave the washer/dryer, she said, "Well, if you leave the ones that are already in the house, that'll reduce dings on the walls from the tenants moving theirs." Again, I don't know if I'm dealing with a "slacker" PM here, or if this is standard for PMs. I don't yet have a contract with her and could choose someone else.
Also, I live in a state where arbitration clauses seem to be included in the standard contract. Does anyone have experience with PMs being open to having that clause removed?
So. You want to hire a professional and then not take their advice?
As stated upthread, you ALWAYS start with the ceilings. Always. Your PM cannot stop gravity.
Honestly, it sounds like you have totally unreasonable expectations and will find any way for this to turn bad. Manage the rehab yourself, then leave.
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