PM Issue

I am having issues with the PM of one of my properties. It is now to the point where I am missing multiple months of payments. Issue has been ongoing for obviously several months and they are still unable to provide a resolution time. They can't advise if it is the tenant missing payments or their own poor management. What would you do? In QLD if that matters.

 

Are they sending you a monthly statement? That should indicate where the tenants have paid up to.

If the tenants havent paid for months the pm should have sent appropriate notices to the tenant and beyond a point booked an appointment with the tribunal.

Have you been advised of any of these actions?

 

Time to switch PM's

Start another thread asking for recommendations for a good PM in the area.

Cheers

Jamie

 

I would switch PMs also. They should, in my opinion, be on top of late payments and never let it get to that point without having notified you.

 

Have you tried talking to the agencies Principal? He might be able to shed some light on the situation. I would personally talk to a few other property managers in the area and switch over as soon as possible.

 

Sounds like you need a new PM... Name and shame!!!

For myself, it certainly does matter where the failed payment issues stems from, but more importantly is the communication of that issue! Without communication you can't make informed decisions on the property and tenants!

If it's tenants, then the PM should have issued a Form 11, and if that hasn't been rectified, issue a Notice of Intention to Leave... The next step is then to get an urgent hearing with the Tribunal to enforce this...

 

DO NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP OF STAYING!

I had a similar issue, many years ago. We had 6 I think, maybe 7, properties with a PM that went bad. We got payments, but not the full amount, but we didn't get statements, so couldn't work out what was what. We were told that the tenants hadn't been paying & that they'd get the statements out to us. They had new software & there were glitches. This was an Agent that we had a good relationship with & all the excuses sounded plausible at the time.

Anyway....long story short was that the Principal was embezzling. They were going out & collecting rents in cash from the tenants, but there was no evidence of this, as it went into their back pocket. They also pocketed Bonds. You name it, they did it.

By the time I got my properties to another agent, I had lost thousands, and none of it was recoverable.

GO.....RUN......Get a new PM......NOW!

 

Yep, as others above have said, sounds like you need a new property manager who is accountable and on top of things.

If you're in SEQ, give @Andrew Hancock a ring.

 

Definitely chat to @Andrew Hancock if it's in his area.

@skater is my Mum, and I do remember when it happened. There's no reason the PM shouldn't be able to tell you immediately WHY it's missing - and they should be contacting you not the other way around. Sounds messy.

 

Let me be clear here.....Lil was only a child at the time, and this had no bearing on her current business. She was not the awesome PM that she is now. It's probably one of the many things that shaped her property education.

Another thing is that if there has been any wrong doings (not saying there is...but you never know), it could take the new PM a bit of time to sort it all out. So, they need to be a bit special, and understanding of the difficulties involved. You've got a recommendation by two great PM's here, so I'd go with who they've recommended. These guys don't just jump up & recommend people they like, they recommend people they know will do a good job. In my instance the PM was never able to get full records from the offending Agent, could not terminate tenants leases for non-payments, as they swore they'd paid (collected in cash with no receipts). After tenants left, we realised there were no bonds, and some of the tenants were feral, as they just put who-ever was easiest into the properties, so it was a huge clean up, and the full financial picture wasn't known for a long time afterwards, when all the tenants that were started during that time had left.

 

Thanks everyone. They have been 'sorting things out' for 6 months now... On top of that, they are a current contributor here and I originally got their contact details through the old Sommersoft.

 

There could also be a miscommunication. We dont really know what the pm has given you in terms of information.

It could be that the tenant is in arrears, the pm has communicated the course of action and you are unhappy because you still havent received rent.

You havent provided any real information either way. i wouldnt be hanging the pm out to dry with out more info.

 

HI Nemo30. Communication with the PM has been ongoing for several months. The common response each time is they don't know what has happened and can't trace the money but investigating. They can't advise me if its the tenant in arrears or they just can't trace the money. They said they will launch action if it is the tenant in arrears, but they problem is they don't even know. Apparently I am the 'only' one of their clients which this has happened.
If it is the tenant in arrears, fine tell me and launch appropriate action. Like I've said earlier, I haven't just given them a day, a week or even a month to figure it out, it has been literally several months now. Yes, I am talking to the Principal too. And yes, the Dunce hat goes here.

 

Thats really odd. it would be fairly easy for the pm to seek evidence from the tenant if they didnt think they'd paid. Somethings not right.

 

They shouldn't have to ask the tenants themselves, that's what they pay a PM for! (Sorry, I know you're helping and at the end of the day you're right, but it shouldn't happen in the first place).

I think I know who you're speaking about and it's disappointing to hear.

It's not hard to trace the money, it all should be going to a highly regulated trust account which is checked and balanced every day (legally I think it's only every month, but still, need to keep on top of that). Each tenant should have a unique reference number, if not a BPAY code that's linked to them. It's really not that hard, especially with all the systems in place now - I literally just download a file and upload it into my trust accounting system, since it imports all the reference numbers all I have to do is hit "receipt". Takes less than 5 mins a day.

Added to that, as soon as the tenant is 2 days in arrears they need to be contacted. If the tenant insists they have paid the money the agent needs to ask for proof of payment and the tenant needs to provide it. If the tenant can provide proof of payment the PM should be on the phone to their bank and ask the tenant to do the same. I've had this happen before and literally had the money refunded to the tenant and paid back to me in 2 business days. It's really not hard.

 

@Rygor - If you have copies of email sent to/from the pm confirming that they don't know lodge a complaint with fair trading.

@skater - NSW requires the agent to check the trust account daily.

 

If they haven't found it over the duration this has been going on, I doubt they ever will. Same agency has other clients in the same boat.

I suggested the poster ask Fair Trading for assistance, they can do an audit of the trust account and suss out what money belongs where. I think they can / should do this regardless of whether they change agencies first.

 

That is a possibility. As @Lil Skater has said, even if it's a software problem there would be archives and a back up and as a worst case, the trust account can be checked manually. It doesn't really add up that there should be that long between payments for no reason. In the end, if you can't get an answer there are plenty of other options to find out what is going on but unfortunately it will probably involve @D.T. 's suggestion.