Edmonton Property Management. Who Sucks and Who Rocks?

[KeenanTameling]

Hey Brent,

Its a fine line to be walked when blogging. I felt I needed to express myself here on this topic. I've met many of your clients(appreciative & happy) and your 25 years experience put you at the top of your game. As a profession you've contributed to the Edmonton landscape and I appreciate your wisdom.

I don't necessarily want to come out and get into it with people as to why things are the way they are. As Don says "what's behind the curtain?" How many Property Management companies have fired clients for the disgraceful way in which these landlords treated their staff.

Some won't let the reader know the quality of their rental units nor the fact that their vacancy rates were twice as high when you took them on than when you let them go.

They won't let you know that they have a property management company building relationship with their tenants because their tenants can't stand them or they are unable to maintain those relationship What is behind the curtain is exactly how you put it, somewhere in the middle. They accuse you of being unprofessional, but you are probably the 6th company in 5 years that has taken a turn trying to please them....lol Unreal. They always got the private information on you too like J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI...hilarious

Yours in Solidarity

 

[Brigham]

Hi there,its worthy,fantastic information to take care for our property concerns issues and trust should be there.Its wonderful post to determine the good care of our assets.Really thanks.

 

[Pindy4]

Can any of you 'old-timers' answer the unanswered questions in posts #36 (2 years ago) and somewhat more recently #73. Thanks.

Rookie

 

[christineruptash]

Hi All,



Does anyone have experience with Don Gray (good or bad) from DMG Asset Management and Realty?

 

[Nicola]

Is he the same person as Todd refers to in post #77 above?

 

[DnD]

[quote user=GSI]On our REIN MYSPACE forum we talk a lot about which residential property managers are good and bad, as well as ways to improve self-managing.



I thought that it would be helpful to make a list of Edmonton property managers (you could do a similar post for your city too) and rate them. The key is to add both your positive and negative feedback. Some property managers should just plain be avoided- don't be shy to write that. Others deserve more recognition for doing a great job- add that too.



I wanted to add a space for comments under the direct polls, but wasn't able too. therefore, please just add your comments under the company names below. If I missed some major property managers, please add them.



1) Realty Corp. (Liberty Manor)



2) Kirkside Realty



3) Realty Canada (Don King)



4) Libertas Property Management Inc.



5) Davis Management and Realty (was Brent Davis)



6) Terra Realty (DMG/Don Grey)



7) Assured Property Management (Macdonald Realty - John Stobbe)



8) Group Three Property Management



9) Larlyn Property Management (condo)



10) Mayfield (condo)



I've worked with Mayfield for about a year. While occasionally difficult to work with - specifically on renovation projects because the owner is quite opinionated - overall they do have the best interests of the investor in mind. I would rate them 7/10.



11) Esquire Management Group



12) Milligan Realty Ltd.



13) Blue Print Property Management



14) Ayre & Oxford Inc.



15) Bella property Management





Someone I forgot? Please add them below:

 

[margaretcowan]

I'm replying a bit late, but maybe this will still help you.



Don Gray is my PM for a two unit house I own in Edmonton. He's doing a great job for me. Before he became my PM, since the former PM didn't have enough staff to handle much needed repairs, Don and his team stepped in and did them all promptly.



Now as my PM he's pretty good at communicating with me and taking more than the required action. The rents are deposited on time each month.



Please send me a private email if you'd like to ask me any other questions.



Hope this helps,

Margaret

Mama Margaret & Friends Cooking Adventures in Italy

www.italycookingschools.com

 

[GSI]

DMG/Don Grey in my opinion is a mediocre manager. If you have 1 or 2 properties he can handle them reasonably well. For larger portfolios he cannot. He managed a portion of my portfolio (18 buildings) for approximately 1 year.



The accounting is often behind months as they 'wait for the new system' to get up to speed. If you are waiting on other paperwork you will wait and wait and wait.



Another note is to watch for repairs being run through DMG or one of his other companies. Many of the repairs are shoddy. If DMG is allowed to bill up to $500 per month in repairs unquestioned, watch out for one month to have a $500 HWT and the next month to have a $500 labor charge; your HWT installation was really $1000 but cleverly spread over 2 months. You might be getting a good deal in some cases, but always take note to avoid collusion.



When the pressure to get a suite filled is on - expect any tenant to be put in there (that may be the fault of many a property manager).



On a personal note Don is an alright guy if you let him be the 'Boss' otherwise he is rather petulant and fails to be accountable for the business he runs, this in-turn can result in trouble for your business. If you leave him alone and have one or two properties, you might be ok. If you practice a 'manage the manager' approach, use caution.



Lastly, he is a one man show. If that show should come to an abrupt end - you'll be left to figure out what needs to be taken over - plan for that.



Overall a 5/10 experience for portfolios above 5 properties. For 1-2 properties, maybe a 6.75/10.



Hope that helps.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

We recently spun off our property management firm, now called Fireside Property Group .. managed out of the Calgary HQ (accounting) but excellent staff in the EDMONTON AREA where most of the Prestprop assets are.



We will take on 22 suiters or bigger in B or better locations. Sorry no singles, duplex, 4-plex, 12-plexes nor C areas !! We manage about 1750 units at the moment, roughly half are PrestProp assets and the other half 3rd party assets, mainly in Calgary.



If you know of any firms that wish to sell their management, let us know .. we seek to moderately grow.



President: Keith McMullen, formerly Real*Star, Transglobe and Gateway and also the President of the Calgary Apartment Association. Great guy .. plus two great female property managers plus great team .. ethical .. fast .. web savvy .. e-marketing .. caring onsite managers .. market priced .. value oriented.



Details: www.firesidepropertygroup.com or Tel: 403-228-4303

 

[cyberc]

I lost more money with Kirkside in a 12 month period than I ever did managing the properties myself in 6 years. Caroline takes no responsibility for anything, never returns calls, hires her son to do repairs that really do not need to be done, she put very poor tenants in our houses and NEVER collected rent on time. My husband is an accountant and he could never figure out their statements and balance the funds, as money would just come and go with little to no explanation. Stay away from her if you want to be profitable.

 

[margaretcowan]

Hello Todd & Danielle



Although Don Gray is no longer a one man show, your remarks above are becoming true for me in the

re-renting (or vacancy, I should say) of my house in Millwoods. Looks like I'll be changing my PM soon.



Thanks for the heads-up,

Margaret

 

[Sherilynn]

[quote
user=Dray] I
would suggest not using Esquire Management Group.


I wish this was posted a month prior! We hired Esquire in early September, 2009, for a condo building. The first year was fine. They brought our arrears up to date and seemed responsive. And the transition from our previous company wasn't easy either.



Perhaps that's why the PM petered out after about 15 months. We had a burst pipe and a pest control issue and I guess the PM decided we were more trouble than we were worth.



We start with a new company this week. I'll keep you posted.

 

[JimWhitelaw]

I remain unconvinced that managing a property manager is less work and better value than self-managing, at least for a moderate number (<30) of doors. Seems like in theory it should be, but the stories I read here and elsewhere don't really back that up.

 

[gwasser]

[quote user=JimWhitelaw]I remain unconvinced that managing a property manager is less work and better value than self-managing, at least for a moderate number (<30) of doors. Seems like in theory it should be, but the stories I read here and elsewhere don't really back that up.





I like rental pools, although I do self manage to keep myself honest.



The rental pool typically involves more units to be managed by the property manager. Thus the rental pool board has more cloud, while for members not involved it is an opportunity to take a bit of a break.



Yet as Jim points out, you must manage the property manager and that is true for rental pool boards as well. Sometimes I feel like the bad cop, always having to chase the pool manager into performance. But it works and as you may have read several times on this thread, firing the devil you know to get one you don't know may turn out even worse.



It is a bit like marriage. Did you know that stats (at least the ones I have been quoted) state that couples that work through the rough patches of marriage, often with the help of a councillor) tend to be happier five years later than the ones who gave up?



The same in the work place, if you fire an employee, you may have to first find a reliable new one for an affordable salary and at significant costs. You still run the risk that the new employee after his costly training also loses motivation and you're back where you started.



There are times such as with sexual harassment, theft or other inexcusable behavior that there is no choice, but overall firing your staff (them being contract or permanent) is often more expensive than working out the problems. I think the same is true for rental managers.

 

[Nicola]

Just wondering if there are any recent recommendations for a good property manager in Edmonton that people are willing to share?



Many thanks!

Nicola

 

[Thomas Beyer]

[quote user=Sherilynn]

We start with a new company this week. I'll keep you posted.
and ?

 

[tsokalski]

Well I self manage and after reading all theses posts must add glad I do. Yes it is more work but I feel I have better control of the process. I will begin to keep a journal of companies that call for reference checks. I had one call me the other day and ask me 2 questions, one of them they answered themselves. Wow they did not care to screen tenant at all. I pity you you landlords out there that have incompetent property managers.

 

[ekisielewski]

Hello Michael: just wondering if after two years of your initial post re Davies Property Mgt you feel the same way about the company?Thanks

Elisabet K.

 

[Sherilynn]

[quote user=ThomasBeyer][quote user=Sherilynn]

We start with a new company this week. I'll keep you posted.
and ?




"And" you may remember my recent posts about my current property management nightmare...



New company is lying, overcharging, and avoiding us. Yay me.

 

[David55]

I went the self management route too. My accountant handles the financials, my property manager wasn't awful, but I just never felt I was getting my money's worth. Definitely no regrets with self managing.