When you own investment property and have a professional manager in place, make sure you are actively watching that manager. "Shopping" the manager, calling and pretending to be a tenant, may seem strange, but don't hesitate to do it when you have a lasting vacancy.
I once had a 6 plex with 3 vacancies, so I had my friend "shop" my manager. He called and was first directed to several other properties. When he insisted on information regarding my property, which was 50% empty, he was told there was nothing available! To this day I don't know why that happened, but I fired that company instantly and made sure the broker (boss) knew exactly what her employee had done.
Want another example? Ok, how about the time when the person responsible for returning phone calls on my property got in a motorcylce accident and nobody bothered to cover his responsibilities while he was in the hospital. So I had 3 vacancies out of the 12 units they managed and prospective tenants weren't even getting a call back! FIRED!
I also highly recommend having a good bookkeeper looking at your monthly profit and loss statements (yes, you should absolutely be getting a monthly statement!) to catch any mistakes that may happen. These can be simple honest mistakes, or deliberate. Either way, it's good to have another set of eyes looking over the numbers.
So, watch em like a hawk, even if you are trusting and don't like to spy. If you do pick the wrong manager at first, at least you will minimize the damage and quickly move on to what will hopefully be a great manager. A great manager has a HUGE positive impact on an investment. When you find one, make sure to treat them well and refer business to them if you can. A great manager is worth his/her weight in gold.
Let me know if you have any questions, I hope this is helpful.
Dan O'Donnell, 360-220-7157
RE/MAX Whatcom County, Inc.
The majority of my clients come by referral. This means I can spend my time providing excellent personalized service for my clients. As a result, my valued clients refer their friends, family and coworkers to me for real estate advice. I am committed to building strong, lasting relationships, one person at a time. Who is the next person you know who is considering purchasing or selling real estate?
