So what happened with this, Renae??

That sounds a lot like my last property when I stepped foot in the door......My most serious problems included:

-Vacancy (of 66 units, 17 were vacant)
-Delinquency (over $13000 in unpaid rents, as a result I had to 'welcome people to leave'; generating a spike in vacancies)
-Propertywide pest control issues (Bedbugs; small problem went unreported for so long it affected everyone).
-$100k+ in unpaid bills (I could not buy what we needed to turn the vacant units and had to pick the easiest ones to turn first)

6 months after I was hired, the owner fired the company that hired me; I stayed with the new company solving all the problems and put it back on track to be solvent. It was so bad, that I debated calling the owner myself to have an 'off the record' conversation about what I saw as the boots on the ground; but after seeking advice of those I trusted, I decided against it because I did not want to appear disloyal to the PMC and could not afford to risk my job for being the whistleblower. I had come to learn that the process to transfer management to the new company was in process before I stepped foot in the door. Come to think of it, I must have talked with the owner every 7-10 days between my initial hire and the time the property started to stabilize.

By the time I left; I had vacancy down to 3 units (with one working application), less than $1000 in delinquencies; the payables were under control (with financial assistance from the owner) and the pest control issue was resolved.


However, my understanding is that the OP of this thread is working directly for the owner that simply doesn't trust her, or cares enough about the financial health of his property to try.

OMG, I truly feel you, I am going through the same thing. I was transferred to a distress property because that is what I do and I love the challenge done it before. But this one is a nightmare I never worked under these circumstances, I almost think they put me there because they ran out of escape goats on who to blame for their poor managing and before I got there the CEO told me oh it has been remolded. after walking the units OMG! they cook the books the regional there he talks to other staff members with profanity and just awful! when he is on the properties everyone is shaking wondering if he had a bad day and taking out on them. Payables have not been paid within the last 2 years and when I ask for something they say you are not collecting and or leasing???? He cooks the books where the delinquent rent balances are to LOST UNCOLLECTIBLES. The city is on our case for things that did not get fixed 2010 and they say it is lack of trust with this company and now they want to blame me. Its amazing how the owner lets them get away with this. They want leases but cannot give me money for paint and my maintenance people give a 100% they make them work overtime and don't want to pay them for it. This is not human to work someone for 8 hours and make them stand on firewatch because no one pays much attention in 2010, he does not take accountability and neither will the CEO! I have had so much loyality and at this point and time DONT HAVE IT ANYMORE AND I DON'T HAVE THE RESPECT FOR THE CEO ANYMORE, I am and individual that looks at it as my property I would not trust this management company to manage it.

I didn't have a budget or access to bills before the property I manage was purchased by an IRO. The Owner chose to live On Site during rennovations and was able to train me to manage a budget, negotiate with contractors, deal with hiring and firing and manage more effectivley to turn the property into an asset. Wht you are dealing with is a "slumlord". an Owner and or PMC who expects you to do their jobs with out giving you the tools. You're blindfolded at this time, and seeing how long you've been attempting to do this, you have two courses of action - One, to Leave and wash your hands of it or Two, take this Drive and Determination I see and put it to use. Age should not matter, it's Experience that really matters in this industry. If your Owner/PMC is not concerned with helping you do thier jobs, then it's time to move on. You Really need to have a plan laid out before you talk to them, and if they reject it, discuss other options. When you come to a loggerhead and cannot push through communication, it's time to go; move on.

Renae- It sounds like what they want is a rental manager. My 1st management position was many moons ago for an OMC (owner managed co.) who really just wanted a glorified leasing person to manage their sites. My first 5 years of property management (if you want to call it that) I never even saw a budget. I was to rent apartments, collect rent checks, and address resident issues. Even the maintenance dept. was a separate entity with managers that they reported to. I was never involved in raising rent, offering specials, or enhancements to the community. Those decisions all came from Corp. This put me at a real disadvantage at the next co. as it was a REIT. They live and die by numbers! Mindy's right, they want someone to sit in the office and look pretty. The OMC was the same. I couldn't hire any staff that the VP did not meet first to look over, and I mean look over. They said it was a second interview but really it was to make sure all staff had a certain look. Anyone who worked for this company had to be considered attractive, while it wasn't overtly sexual; at meeting you would look around and see a certain "type" of look. Their formula wasn't based on certain races or sexes, just everyone had to be "cute" or "pretty". I did have the ability to terminate leasing staff, so they get credit for that. There are still a few people I worked with then still working for them. It seems to me they are stuck there due to lack of real property management experience.

Wonder what would happen if you just walked in and fired your so-called
Assistant…What’s the worst that can happen? They fire you? Even if they do most likely they will not report that to an HR person seeking a reference. Like Mindy said you can just collect unemployment until you find the place that will truly appreciate your desire to make a difference rather than to warm a desk chair.

Is it just me or does every new manager walk into a situation where there are staffing issues, but no one bothered to address them until you came along? This has happened to me at almost every site. My new boss and I chat about the staff and they mention so-and-so really needs to go. It’s like okay if you knew that why haven’t you done it already?

Not to keep this thread going on forever, but Mindy may have brought up the most important part of this problem. I often forget that we unknowingly hire some pretty scumbag managers for our properties. I guess I have no reason, or at least try not to think about it.
Yep, thinking back, the folks at the PMC have had some lulu's on the payroll. Sometimes I remember it taking a few months to find them out and get them out. In some cases, they stayed long enough to clean out the house. I would be at the main offices and I would see some new faces and I would wonder who----the

---

heck they were. At company meetings someone might get introduced as the new on-sites---- at

---

and I thought-what?
But, with tried and true in house employees, micromanagement should not be included anywhere.
Now I remember back to the good old Army where we would get those "shotgun blasts".
No matter who blew it, everyone got a hard message. I never liked that. Wanted to say deal with your problems, I'm not one of them. But it is the shotgun blast scenario with corporate types. They work under the "Everything's fine till something goes wrong" motto. Then high command blows sky high and everyone gets scalded over it. No, I don't like that. I quit putting up with it after the army.
I really liked Mindy's list of what ticks off corporate types. Pretty all inclusive too!!
This is a tired saying but you really do need to walk in the shoes of the other person. (Not saying any of this is the OP scenario problem). They might just be some kind of real (---) to work for/with.

Final point repeated from another thread. "The best way to have any job is not to have to have it at all". Get into that shape and the world tastes better.