property management

[Lilybones]

Hi All,I feel I need some clarification on this. I hired a property mgmt company to rent my suite. I did my due diligence with rents in the area as well as with other property mgmt companies in the area. I chose a property mgmt company because of there possible/potential renters in there portfolio. As the customer, heading into month 3 with my place not rented and no real justification as to what is the issue. I have asked ...Q)is price and issue A) no
Q) is location an issue A) no
feedback is - place looks great no real eating place/dining room and only 1 bathroom, this floor plan is not for everyone ...this could have been mentioned when I was asking questions pre-purchase.

Last week...I got a phone call asking about the possibility of reducing the price???

So far I have already given a check for half the 1st months` rent(a month`s rent is the going price to find a tenant). Which is non- refundable. (unlike a realtor who gets paid when the job gets done.)
I have not received anything on paper as to the activity of the rental of my place. Should I be expecting ..a weekly/bi-weekly report of all advertising and ads (over and above from the ones I am running myself) all viewings scheduled and with whom for me to follow up with for feedback. I feel a very big disconnect am I wrong? I chose to hire a property manager because this fell out of my comfort zone but so far I am just frustrated and renterless...any thoughts.

http://hamilton.kijiji.ca/c-housing-house-...QAdIdZ184268213

 

[PaulPoulsen]

While I know there are some great property managers out there (and specifically on this board), my sweeping generalization of the industry is that their money is made through volume as opposed to quality. It`s easier to make money by charging 100 clients 10% and do the bare minimum than it is to charge 25 clients 40% and do a really great job.

Now that I`ve offended every property manager ever, my advice would be to at least take control of finding a tenant. Once there`s a tenant in the property, you can decide whether or not you want to keep the PM around to manage the remaining aspects of the tenancy.

There are a lot of benefits to filling your own vacancy. You`re often able to spend more time with prospective tenants than a PM. You understand the benefits and features of the property better than a PM. Where a PM may come across as all business, you`re able to take the time to come across as friendly, approachable and warm. Typically a PM will only show a property during business hours. You`re able to show it on evenings and weekends when tenants typically have the most time to go house hunting. Be polite, courteous, and available and you`ll be miles ahead of almost everyone else trying to fill a property.

You probably also need to do something with your ad. Two exterior pictures and then a bunch of little tiny interior shots won`t get the job done. You really need to craft a wonderful ad with great pictures so that tenants see you take obvious pride in the property and that you want to take great care of it. There are a ton of posts on here about writing an effective rental ad so I won`t regurgitate them. Do a search and I`m sure you`ll come up with some marketing gold!

One thing I WILL reiterate is that I`m not a huge believer in Kijiji. In my experience, it`s a good place to find a tenant that`s the lowest common denominator. Spend some money on a dedicated rental site and supplement it with Kijiji/Craigslist if you must.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

[housingrental]

Paul`s answer not withstanding I think you`ve found your answer contained within your own post
You have an undesirable layout that there is a limited market for. This will need to be filled at a lower rate vs alternate competitors and take longer to find a suitable resident.

 

[SamEfford]

The best advice I have ever had was "Think like a renter". What is your tenant looking for? What attracts them.