Property Management breaking Fiduciary Agency - Landlord Forum thread 353806

Property Management breaking Fiduciary Agency by Celia Bonavita. (Washington or Any state) on August 13, 2017 @08:50

Share |

I am a landlord. I just found out that our rental company has messed us over on rents, agency, and ensuring upkeep of the home. They have not been providing their fiduciary responsibility of maintaining good tenants at market rent per the NAR ethics code and standards of conduct.
In particular, they have broken with our agreement by allowing month to month, by allowing pets without pet deposits and/or the fee that I prefer, by not conducting walk throughs and ensuring the property is properly maintained and damages/ pet smells / eradication is not attributed to the right tenant.

The agents have lied to me. They are fully aware that they have done these and yet say the most ridiculous stuff - confusing the home deposit with a pet deposit and a pet deposit with a pet fee. They have a responsibility to provide competent fiduciary agency.

That said, currently their tenant - on a month to month without my authorization and as his initial contract without any extra rent (matter of act $350 below market rent) - is over his time and buying a home, destroying my property, had children and pets in a home that is 55+ and when their contract specifically stated no pets or forfeiture of the deposit and immediate eviction. We did not evict but served up a letter stating he would need to vacate by the end of the next month July 31. He (they - wife and two kids and dog) are still in the home and supposedly vacating (closing on his home) Sunday with a walk through on Monday.

I have lost between $2800 and $8000 on their horrid mismanagement and my home could not even sell in a very hot market of Mount Vernon, Wa.

Please help! I do not want others to experience the same disregard and/or incompetence or negligence.

[ Reply ] [ Return to forum ]

Re: Property Management breaking Fiduciary Agency by Anonymous on August 13, 2017 @09:26	[ Reply ]

If you can prove all these things, you should be calling an attorney tomorrow morning and hire him/her to cancel your agreement with the rental company, and sue them for not following their contract with you.

Re: Property Management breaking Fiduciary Agency by Katiekate (New York) on August 14, 2017 @07:24	[ Reply ]

I have always said this.... Property management companies and owners DO NOT have the same goals. The property management agency is interested in maximizing their own bottom line. They do this by cutting costs and increasing revenue. They get the revenue from the owner. The owner is interesting in maximizing their own bottom line by controlling costs and risks. You and they have COMPETING goals. You really cannot sign a contract with an agency and walk away...this is the result. Next time...you write your own contract. And make sure you have the ability to verify monthly. I never let a property manager write the lease or handle the money..further..I make all the decision. Who to rent to, who to hire for work..when and how the work will be done. And, even the...I know that I will have to replace the property manager about every 18 months....that is about how long it takes a new manager to figure out a way to cheat me. Never fails. I expected it, I plan for it.

Re: Property Management breaking Fiduciary Agency by Anonymous on August 14, 2017 @12:11	[ Reply ]

It sounds more as if you expected more than what your written contract with the rental company calls for. Did you agree to their terms and provisions? Or did you provide your written standards and lease for them to follow? Mosr rental company contracts call for mediation. What are the terms for firing them? Why are you now complaining about all this after many, many months have gone by? Surely, you received monthly updates and payments each month from them? How do you know the home is $350 below market rent? Maybe your property is not worth that extra amount or you are in a lower income area. Why have you not been questioning them all along about your concerns? Washington law does not allow forfeiture of the security deposit and when a lease ends without being terminated, rolls over into a month to month by law. Maybe you are not knowledgeable about things as you need to be???

Re: Property Management breaking Fiduciary Agency by anon (ca) on August 14, 2017 @15:38	[ Reply ]

NAR code of ethics means nothing unless your property manager is a Realtor and a current dues-paying member of the Nat'l Ass'n Realtors. That would have to be in your contract also. Your situation is no sure win, sorry . Lawyer time.