Recently on Corvallis People, there was a posting regarding a property management company not doing repairs. It was removed as the comments went too far. An Admin of the page asked me to write a brief article about what property management companies can do.

Property management companies (PMC) have a contract with the owners that specifies for what each party is responsible, and the limitations, too. An owner may want the PMC to advertise and screen potential tenants, choose them and be done. The owner will collect rent,, do repairs, everything else. The PMC’s job is done when the new tenant signs the rental agreement.

A PMC maybe hired to do everything for the owner, including pay all the bills including property taxes on behalf of the owner. In the case last week, the owner did not hire the PMC to do repairs or maintenance. The owner wanted to be in charge of getting those things done with people they knew prior to hiring the PMC. The PMC was aware of the tenant’s needs but could not contractual fulfill those needs: they simply did not have permission to do so. Even when a PMC is responsible for repairs and maintenance, the owner has the final say. PMC’s often have language in their contract that specifies how much money they can spend for repairs without contacting the owner. Some hold a reserve in this amount so they know the money is there.

Bottom line is, the owner controls what the PMC may do. When things go wrong, the PMC usually gets hit with the blame, no matter what. When an owner doesn’t do what they said they would do, the PMC may choose to terminate their contract with the owner. This is more common in Corvallis than you might think. PMC’s will only take so much before their reputation is damaged, or their license is at risk.

If you have questions or concerns, please direct them to me at housingbob@gmail.com