At Hoffman Realty, we have been in the property management business for over 25 years.
Lately, we have heard many complaints from landlords about the property managers they have been working with. When the real estate market collapsed in Tampa several years ago, many sales agents decided to go into the property management business. While many of them are doing a great job, some simply do not belong here.
Three reasons that landlords fire or change property managers:
- Phone calls go unreturned
- Accounting is wrong
- There is no cash flow
Phone calls not getting returned.
This is an example of horrible customer service and the real problem is that it might indicate deeper issues. If they are not returning your phone calls, chances are they are not returning calls from your tenants either. If they aren’t returning calls, what else aren’t they doing? This should raise some red flags and give you a reason to worry that maintenance is not being performed, inspections are not being conducted and vendors aren’t being responded to. If your property is vacant, a lack of responsiveness might also make you worry that your property manager is not showing it or advertising it or getting back to potential tenants who are calling to inquire about it.
One reason for this unfortunate customer service might be that your property manager is continuing to work as a sales agent as well. If your property manager is preoccupied with chasing the latest sales commission or closing a new deal, those property management responsibilities are going to be placed on the back burner.
There is no excuse for phone calls going unreturned.
As a landlord using the services of a property manager, you are the customer. If your property manager is not returning your calls, the chances are pretty good that there are much bigger problems. Address this issue right away and make sure it is resolved – either by better customer service or by firing the property manager altogether.
If you have any questions about what to expect from a property management company, or how to go about choosing one that will work well for you, contact us or give us a call at 813-875-7474.