At Rental Management Guys, we are often hired to help stabilize apartment building operations. This could be the result of: the death of the primary owner, new owner purchasing the building or simply that the property has become uncontrollable by the current owner or manager. First, what does building that needs stabilization look like:
- Significant past due rent.
- Unresolved maintenance issues and considerable deferred maintenance.
- Code compliance or other letters and fines from city about building.
- Unruly, difficult or frustrated tenants.
Often troubled apartment buildings will have more than just one problem. This can lead to frustrated tenants, frustrated owners, decrease in income and pressure from the city to implement immediate solutions.
Stabilizing a building takes time. Some buildings can be turned around in 90 days. Others may take up to a year. Much of it depends upon the source of the problems and the owners willingness to absorb costs to get issues resolved. Decisive action is needed to get a building stabilized. Here are some examples of how we handle various issues:
Significant past due rent-Step one is to confirm that everyone agrees what is actually owed. We find that many landlords do not send out monthly statements and eventually there is a disconnect between what the tenant thinks is owed (or that they are paid in full) and what the landlord believes. At Rental Management Guys, we maintain tenant ledgers on all tenants which we consider the source of truth for what is owed. We then send statements to each tenant around the 8th of each month. Once we all agree on the owed amount, we work with the tenant to set up a payment plan. If the tenant is unwilling, we may ask them to move out or file for eviction.
Unresolved maintenance issues-Unfortunately, some landlords will try to band-aid maintenance issues for years, simply not wanting to spend the money to repair something correctly and permanently. This requires a frank discussion with the owner to explain that this problem is not going away and is causing a ripple effect with frustrated tenants, possible damage to the property and more costs with having to repeatedly attempt repairs.
Code compliance or other letters from city-These letters can be wide-ranging and touch on many of these other areas. They may be related to unresolved or deferred maintenance and failed inspections. They could be related to tenant behavior or other complaints caused by tenants. Ultimately, we need to find the root cause of the problem and resolve it to the city’s satisfaction. This may require repairs, or it may require correcting tenant behavior or both. We help owners understand the problem and costs and work quickly to resolve these issues.
Unruly, difficult or frustrated tenants-Tenants are often frustrated by lack of management attention to a problem, whether maintenance or other tenant’s behavior. Sorting out the problems can be complex and may take multiple attempts and visits to even understand. Some issues can be resolved by discussing the problems with the tenants. We have resolved others by asking certain tenants to vacate the building. While this may impact the owner’s income, there may be no other way to resolve these issues for that particular building.
Most owners want to own quiet buildings. Unfortunately, sometimes those buildings can become difficult and uncontrollable. Rental Management Guys specializes in helping owners quiet their buildings.
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