Problems with My “Property Manager”

[Anonymous]

[quote=flu]Just move[/quote]

That’s what she said.

But it is pretty unprofessional and inappropriate for your property manager to tell you to move.

Point is I don’t want to move. This lady’s inability to manage some minor repair work in my house has turned her into a nut job.

[Hatfield]

[quote=HLS]Some landlords prefer a tenant who is always late and pays late charges 😉
You are an ideal tenant only in your eyes….[/quote]
LOL, just like credit card companies.

I agree that it might make sense to try to contact the owner by pulling the property records and sending a letter to the address where the tax bills go. I would say something like: As you probably know, I’ve lived here for 7 years and I’m pretty happy living in this house, but I’m having X, Y, Z issues with the property manager. I’ve been unsuccessful, after many requests, to get the issues addressed or even acknowledged. I’m not sure whether you’re aware of these issues so i wanted to contact you directly. I am hoping we can get these resolved so I can keep living here.

If the landlord wanted you out, he’d probably just raise the rent, or not renew the lease. Really, if a landlord wants you to move along, there’s lots of subtle and not-so-subtle ways that will show. Based on what you’ve written, this sounds more like benign neglect. Property manager sucks, but landlord knows nothing because there’s no turnover and the checks keep coming.

[Coronita]

[quote=deadzone][quote=flu]Just move[/quote]

That’s what she said.

But it is pretty unprofessional and inappropriate for your property manager to tell you to move.

Point is I don’t want to move. This lady’s inability to manage some minor repair work in my house has turned her into a nut job.[/quote]

I suggested to move so you can avoid the headache, since it appears she isn’t going to be changing anytime soon.

[Coronita]

[quote=Hatfield][quote=HLS]Some landlords prefer a tenant who is always late and pays late charges 😉
You are an ideal tenant only in your eyes….[/quote]
LOL, just like credit card companies.

I agree that it might make sense to try to contact the owner by pulling the property records and sending a letter to the address where the tax bills go. I would say something like: As you probably know, I’ve lived here for 7 years and I’m pretty happy living in this house, but I’m having X, Y, Z issues with the property manager. I’ve been unsuccessful, after many requests, to get the issues addressed or even acknowledged. I’m not sure whether you’re aware of these issues so i wanted to contact you directly. I am hoping we can get these resolved so I can keep living here.

If the landlord wanted you out, he’d probably just raise the rent, or not renew the lease. Really, if a landlord wants you to move along, there’s lots of subtle and not-so-subtle ways that will show. Based on what you’ve written, this sounds more like benign neglect. Property manager sucks, but landlord knows nothing because there’s no turnover and the checks keep coming.[/quote]

I wouldn’t even bother to try to bring up the living 7 years and eing a good tenant. I would simply bring it up things from the angle of “what’s in it for me?” as the property owner.

For example…

“Your house has a maintenance issue. The PM so far has been unresponsive to getting it fixed. I am contacting you because I am concerned that if this issue isn’t fixed, it could cause severe property damage to your property and expose you to unnecessary liability….”

When you contact the owner, you got to put it in there terms and think how they will think: “what’s in it for me?”

Mention (a) property damage and (b) liability, and leave off all the other personal things about how great you are as a tenant, because chances are they won’t give a shit about that.

[Hatfield]

I don’t see it that way.

Landlords don’t like turnover. You don’t make money on turnovers, you lose money on turnover. And it’s much better to have a happy tenant than an unhappy one. Source: am a landlord.

As for “just move out,” why play that card now? Why not politely find out if the landlord is even aware there’s a problem? I find that 95% of the time, treating people respectfully will get you going in the right direction. And if speaking with the landlord doesn’t do any good, yeah, ok, maybe then looking for a new place makes sense, but why run off in a huff before the reasonable options are exhausted?

[HLS]

Hatfield
Exactly! A good customer to a credit card company is one who pays interest, late fees and over the limit fees.
Paying your bill in full every month does not make one a ‘good customer’ 😉

Deadzone,
Before you consider paying for any work on your own OR
pushing the envelope about this issue, I would strongly suggest that you get a lease signed, assuming that you want to stay there.

Unfortunately, you are subject to receiving a 60 day termination of tenancy at any time.
You currently do not have a lease, you have a month to month agreement.

What did it take for you to get the tile work done that has already been completed ?

You are potentially treading on thin ice.
They do not need to give you any reason to give you a 60 day notice.

Your only remedy could be going to court which could get messy and expensive.

[spdrun]

they’re also treading on thin ice. Sometimes, water leaks get worse very rapidly. Especially if poorly repaired. Nomesayin’?

[HLS]

Hatfield,
It’s dangerous to assume what someone else is thinking
OR that someone else would do what you would do.

I’ve been a landlord for over 30 years. I don’t want problem tenants, I don’t care about turnover.
I’m not going to let the inmate run the asylum.

Having a lease allows the tenant to stay as long as they keep up their end of the deal….
Having a month to month allows me to get rid of them at any time for any reason. There’s two ways to look at it.

Deadzone is not a problem tenant BUT having a problem with the owner’s agent and doesn’t have a lease. Delicate situation.

I’ve had property managers and have had tenants contact me directly complaining about the manager.
I trusted my manager and didn’t want to be involved with the tenants complaints at that time. They eventually worked it out with the manager.

[ltsddd]

[quote=deadzone][quote=FlyerInHi]Look up the property records and contact the owner directly. You have be right to do so. If you can’t get a phone number, write to the owner.

I’ve had a situation where the property manager of the unit above mine wasn’t properly addressing a leak.[/quote]

Yes I have contact information for the owner and he is ccd on many of the emails I deal with the PM but he is not interested dealing with anything directly. That is why this is frustrating. The property manager is incompetent and becoming borderline hostile.[/quote]

Most likely owner is not reading the emails if you’re just cc’ing him. The mindset is that it’s just a courtesy copy and he has the PM to deal with the situation.

Try communicating/emailing the owner directly. Telling him you know your rights and specifically what needs to be fixed. Or you’ll fix them yourself and deduct that from the rent. Money talks.

Perhaps a leak or two in the house with the mold issue and a complaint to the health department will get their attention.

[Coronita]

[quote=Hatfield]

As for “just move out,” why play that card now? Why not politely find out if the landlord is even aware there’s a problem? I find that 95% of the time, treating people respectfully will get you going in the right direction. And if speaking with the landlord doesn’t do any good, yeah, ok, maybe then looking for a new place makes sense, but why run off in a huff before the reasonable options are exhausted?[/quote]

True, assuming the landlord wants to respond and can be found. For some landlords, they really don’t care the plight of the tenant, unless you explain it in terms of costs to them, liability to them, and how it might affect their property.

Not all landlords are like this, but if you happen to run into one that is like this, that’s probably the only way they will understand. And then, you want to weigh how much of a hassle you really want to put up with. And one can put it in these terms without being a jackass about it too, they probably are more likely to address the issue (not saying the OP was… But some tenants end up being a jackass when they report issues too, so it goes both ways).

Not every landlord thinks with a straight head, like you Hatfield. Seriously. You got some really illogical people out there who are itching to jack up rents by $200-300/month, and end up leaving 2-3 months of vacancy because of it. I had tenant prospects contacting me about a rental, because that’s what their landlords did.

[Anonymous]

Great advice everyone, amazing how there are so many variables going on. Part of the problem for me is that it is unclear how involved (if any) the owner is in making decisions. Or when the property manager is telling me “the owner wants to do this..” she may just be bullshitting me. She is a real estate agent so she does that (BSing) for a living. During the recent discourse with her it is clear she is untrustworthy.

I’ve been month to month for the last five years and the owner has had the property since early 90s. He owns it outright and could have sold it long time ago during previous peak if he wanted to. That tells me he is interested in the easy money of a consistent, reliable income stream with minimal involvement. My rent is also slightly below market value, but part of that is due to the fact that the unit is in major need of renovation. I’m good with that. I don’t want the unit renovated, just that the obvious stuff (like leaks) are repaired.

I think my strategy is going to keep low profile for now and let the property manager flail (and fail) on her own. Whenever I get involved she tries to twist things around to make me look like the bad guy. None of the current problem require immediate attention in my opinion, the bathroom repairs that were completed were the most important (replace moldy carpet with tile). I did my duty to report all the other problems and it is not my responsibility to fix them.

The more I think about it I am the perfect tenant for the owner. I provide stable, reliable income for him. I don’t demand unreasonable work gets done. If he wanted to, he could have asked me to leave a long time ago in order to remodel for either sale or increased rent. Given his aversion to any direct involvement with the unit, I would be shocked if he would all of a sudden want to deal with the headache of a re-model.

[PCinSD]

No idea what part of town you’re in. But if you rent in the city of San Diego your landlord can’t simply terminate your lease. They must have very specific reasons like failing to pay rent, breaching terms of agreement, doing something illegal, etc.

[HLS]

[quote=PCinSD]No idea what part of town you’re in. But if you rent in the city of San Diego your landlord can’t simply terminate your lease. They must have very specific reasons like failing to pay rent, breaching terms of agreement, doing something illegal, etc.[/quote]

???
A landlord can’t terminate a lease outside the city either, it’s not limited to ‘the city of San Diego’

In this case the OP doesn’t have a lease.
A month to month agreement can be terminated with 60 days notice without any reason.

Is there something special going on in San Diego ?

[FlyerInHi]

Deadzone, remember that the property manager is the professional, you are not.
So you are allowed to behave in an unprofessional manner, if you wish. I don’t know why I never had problems with men, but women in real estate is something else.

That woman deserves to be told to her face that she’s a bitch. My theory is that a lot of women are coddled by their husbands and family who enable them. I once told the owner of an RE company that she’s a bitch. And I told her husband too. We have to coordinate things and we are on better terms now. Don’t enable people to intimidate you.

[PCinSD]

[quote=HLS][quote=PCinSD]No idea what part of town you’re in. But if you rent in the city of San Diego your landlord can’t simply terminate your lease. They must have very specific reasons like failing to pay rent, breaching terms of agreement, doing something illegal, etc.[/quote]

???
A landlord can’t terminate a lease outside the city either, it’s not limited to ‘the city of San Diego’

In this case the OP doesn’t have a lease.
A month to month agreement can be terminated with 60 days notice without any reason.

Is there something special going on in San Diego ?[/quote]

Yes. San Diego Municipal Code.

http://tenantdefenders.blogspot.com/2010/10/are-there-any-laws-in-san-diego-that.html?m=1

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