Property Management conundrum

[EMM]

I have never understood why some owners leave themselves open to abuse by passing virtually all responsibility over to their management companies.
It is not difficult to set up payment by DD of water, rates, EDP etc,
The aim should be to reduce the amount of our cash that the management company has access to.

[widge]

I have never understood why some owners leave themselves open to abuse by passing virtually all responsibility over to their management companies.
It is not difficult to set up payment by DD of water, rates, EDP etc,
The aim should be to reduce the amount of our cash that the management company has access to.

I don't understand how a management company can abuse an owner by paying his utility bills? On the contrary, they are more likely to query unusually high bills rather than automatically pay by direct debit.

The reason for employing a management company is to free you from the day to day administration of running the property and I expect most do a pretty good job. Why would you "aim to reduce the amount of our cash" ? I aim to maximise the amount of my cash they have access to through higher rental yields & better occupancy.

Regrettably, I have just been informed that, due to changes in the Lagoa Finance Dept. my agent can no longer act as my Fiscal Representative. Separating the cash from the payment of taxes and declaration of income & expenditure adds another & unwelcome link in the chain of administration and will certainly cost more.

Anyone got any good ideas on how to simplify matters?????

[EMM]

It has been known and discussed at great lenght on this forum for " agents " to pocket the money and NOT pay your bills.

A family we know booked a villa ( not in this area ) last summer, they lost power on day 2 and then discovered that the " agent " wa not paying the utililities although the owner had given them a float.

The owner had to transfer money and get the power back on so that they could continue their holiday.

Owners owe it to their clients to minimise any risk to them which is why it make sense to pay your own utilities by DD.

[widge]

It has been known and discussed at great lenght on this forum for " agents " to pocket the money and NOT pay your bills.

A family we know booked a villa ( not in this area ) last summer, they lost power on day 2 and then discovered that the " agent " wa not paying the utililities although the owner had given them a float.

The owner had to transfer money and get the power back on so that they could continue their holiday.

Owners owe it to their clients to minimise any risk to them which is why it make sense to pay your own utilities by DD.

I would have thought the lowest risk would be to have a reputable local managing agent? After all there's very little you can do to placate disappointed clients if you're 1200 miles away!

How many agents do we know of who "pocket the money" ? Is this a real issue or a just a couple of local fraudsters who ripped off some customers? I contend that most well known agencies are honest & reliable.

[shanagarry]

I contend that most well known agencies are honest & reliable.

It's a case them all being 'tarred' with the same brush now - which is a great shame. The Mazza case that is highlighted at the head of this section of the forum is an abject lesson in how bad the bad can be and clearly urges great caution to any unsuspecting property owner seeking competent and honest management services.

Comprehensive due diligence is just the starting point - something that should not phase the professionals. I support the suggestion that payments for essential services should be taken care of by DD - that way the managing agent does not need to handle any cash.

[e-richard]

Is this a real issue or a just a couple of local fraudsters who ripped off some customers? I contend that most well known agencies are honest & reliable.

From my own personal experience of 3 different rental managers all I can say, using the same tabloid selective wording as some posts above, is that 100% of them have been entirely trustworthy.

In any corner of society there will be the occasional bad apple, but, as Shanagarry says, some basic due diligence is required and it won't then be hard to find one of the many honest agents.

[shanagarry]

Having said what I said - I too have no bad experience of Property Managers but I do know a good few who have been victims of the afore-mentioned - and it does not make for pleasant reading.

Be careful out there