What To Do When Your Property Manager Ignores You

If you own a rental property in Florida, you might have made the (smart!) decision to hire a property manager. Working with a property management company can help you maximize your investment - and reduce your stress and workload. A property manager can handle everything from maintenance requests to collecting rent to preparing and showing a rental unit to prospective tenants.

Of course, not all property management companies are created equal. Landlords and tenants may find their property manager uncommunicative, ignoring emails, calls, and other requests. In this situation, you should document your attempts at communication - and take steps to get the problem resolved in a different way.

Eaton Realty offers high-quality property management services in Hillsborough County, Florida. We pride ourselves on open communication with landlords and tenants alike, working hard to ensure we meet expectations for all parties involved. To learn more about how our property managers can help you, reach out today to talk to a member of our property management team.

Interested In Changing Property Managers? Speak With A Hillsborough County Property Manager › 813-672-8022

What Landlords Can Do When Their Property Manager Ignores Them

Many property investors in Florida choose to work with a property management company. For some, it’s a matter of necessity because they may not live in the area - or even the state! For others, it is simply more convenient and profitable to have a professional handle all of the details related to their investment properties.

Unfortunately, not all property managers are great at their job. You may reach out to your property manager only to never get a return text, call, or email. Not responding can be particularly frustrating when you’re dealing with an issue with a rental property or when their failure to communicate is costing you money. Fortunately, there are some steps that you can take if your property manager is ignoring you.

Document Attempts To Contact

First, document all of your attempts to contact the property manager. You can log the date and times of your calls, emails, and messages, or use a program to extract the data from your phone. A record of your attempts to contact the property manager will be important if you ultimately need to break your contract with the property management company.

Remain Civil In Your Communications

Second, you should maintain your cool even in this upsetting situation. There might be a good reason your property manager isn’t communicating with you, such as an illness or injury. More importantly, if you ultimately need to take legal action or otherwise escalate the matter, evidence that you were aggressive or impolite could work against you.

Go Through The Company’s Main Communication Channels

Third, contact the property management company directly to discuss the issues with their employee. They should be able to address the situation by talking to the property manager or assigning a new manager to your rental units. You can share your documentation of your attempts to talk to the property manager to help them understand the scope of the problem.

Review Your Legal Options

Fourth, talk to a lawyer about your rights. Typically, property management companies require landlords to sign a contract for their services. A complete failure to communicate - or to properly address the failure - could be considered a breach of contract. This may allow you to break the contract.

Find A Better Property Management Company

If you do reach the point of ending the contract, then you will likely need to find a new property management company. To start, you should look for a company that is a member of the National Association of Professional Residential Property Managers (NARPM). A property manager who has achieved a high status with the NARPM, such as Master Property Manager, must take continuing education courses and meet the highest levels of professionalism.

When choosing a property management company, you should look for:

• Experience: how long has the company offered property management services in West Central Florida?
• Technology: does the company offer online portals for tenants and landlords to handle maintenance requests and payments?
• Marketing: what does the company do to prepare and list your rental unit? How do they get it in front of as many prospective tenants as possible?
• Tenant Screening: what procedures are in place to screen tenants?
• Communication: how does the property management company communicate with both tenants and landlords?
• References: does the company have a good reputation in the community?
• Finances: how does the company handle accounting? Does it have the necessary expertise to appraise the profitability of your rental property and recommend changes based on the real estate market?

After getting burned by your current property manager, it is important to take the time to do research before choosing a new company. In Hillsborough County, Eaton Realty offers outstanding property management services and excellent communication.

What Tenants Can Do When Their Property Manager Ignores Them

Property managers are expected to be the main point of contact with tenants. After all, that is why landlords hire them - to deal with things like maintenance requests and other issues that may arise. If a property manager simply fails to respond to you as a tenant, then there are some things that you can do to address the issue.

Review Lease Details

First, you should check your lease. It may contain information about how you should get in touch with the property manager and expected response times. For example, there may be a specific way that you are required to request a repair - make sure that you are reaching out in the proper way. You should also try multiple communication methods. Some people might not be great about checking email, but always respond to a text.

Document Attempts To Contact

Second, keep records of your attempts at communication. This recordkeeping is important if you need to reach out to the landlord directly so they can decide whether the property manager is the right fit for them. It can also protect you, as damage from a maintenance issue might get worse if it isn’t addressed immediately. Having a record of your attempts to contact the property manager will show that you tried to get it fixed and were ignored.

Go Through The Company’s Main Communication Channels

Third, if the property manager is employed by a property management company, you can try reaching out to them directly. They may be able to resolve the issue with their employee so that you don’t have to escalate the matter further.

Reach Out To The Property Owner

Fourth, if the property manager doesn’t have a boss - or if the company isn’t helpful, you can talk to your landlord directly. They will likely want to know that the company that they have hired is doing a good job of properly managing their properties and handling tenant complaints.

Seek Legal Help

Finally, if the landlord isn’t responsive or helpful, you might want to seek legal advice. Landlords have certain obligations, and if they fail to meet them, you might be able to break your lease.

Property Management Done Right with Eaton Realty

A property manager who doesn’t respond to you or your tenants is simply not doing their job. They may end up costing you money due to broken leases, missed opportunities to rent out a property, or damage from repairs not made in a timely fashion. If you find yourself in this situation, Eaton Realty can help.

Our team of experienced property managers is NARPM certified - and prides itself on providing the highest quality property management services. We maintain open lines of communication and utilize technology to ensure no landlord or tenant request falls through the cracks. To learn more about our property management services, fill out our online contact form or give us a call at 813-672-8022 to talk to a member of our Hillsborough County property management team.

The information disclosed above does not constitute legal or financial advice. Use this information at your discretion and consult a legal or financial professional for further guidance.