Daniel Bornstein, a real estate attorney and property manager, identifies the top 10 management pitfalls that reduce profits and increase liability for property managers. These include: failing to have proper management agreements; lacking legal knowledge; high employee turnover; poor client, tenant and contractor relationships; and disorganized bookkeeping. He provides best practices for addressing each issue, such as formal training, clear compensation policies, systematic tenant communication, and using property management software. The presentation aims to help property managers avoid common mistakes and protect themselves legally.
Discussion of property management best practices my insider’s knowledge as a real estate attorney, a property manager, and an investor.
Discussion of property management best practices my insider’s knowledge as a real estate attorney, a property manager, and an investor.
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Ask for a show of hands for who still use the CAR property management agreement. Discuss its deficiencies
The way you set expectations is you have an outstanding OPM agreements Set expectations: Deliniate responsibilities for extra charge Ins. coverage for yourself Provides a method for termination for non compliance
Many pm are adept at selling and market, but utterly unfamiliar with laws involved, true for brokers and pms, whether there is a re license or not
Many who work in property management companies are not licensed, but act as if they are. This makes them dangerous.
Refer to Legal knowledge and education best practices as a solution.
Example: Pay for training for the talented assistant’s RE license. Reminder that you can’t share commission with an unlicensed agent.
Refer to Legal knowledge and education best practices as a solution.
Too often, 20% of clients take up 80% of your time. It is not worth working with them, considering the opportunity costs.
Discussion: do not to act until eviction is served due to the time and cost it takes to execute an eviction. Could reference article with eviction chart on www.PropertyManager.com
Perfect Tenant: no problems The Political tenant: Makes everything a politicized drama. Sees you as the bad guy by virtue of you being the landlord’s agent and them as the powerless tenant. The Non-communicative. Will not cooperate with you on any matter. The Tenant who is incapable of communication with anyone. The Passive Aggressive Tenants appear nice in face-to-face conversations, but they will send you a letter a day later that will shock you by the way it characterizes the conversation.
Talk about why you were interested in presenting w/ AppFolio, can you reference that you use it for your business?
Talk about why you were interested in presenting w/ AppFolio, can you reference that you use it for your business?
Give examples of property managers hiring contractors to perform renovations without knowing if their licenses are valid. Example of permits required for certain projects. Example of local laws prohibiting construction projects being performed by unqualified personnel. Give example of property managers penalized for OSHA violations for not reporting an injury. Discuss workers compensation liability.
Ethical conundrum: Even if you are acting under your client’s parameters for doing unpermitted work, you can still be liable or penalized or authorizing the work. Hence the conundrum: you have a duty to act as a fiduciary for your client if your client wants you do do work at a cheaper rate, but doing such work can potentially subject you to liability.