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My Ballard Forum » Reader Recommendations

Property Management

(15 posts)

Started 11 months ago by Wino
Latest reply from JoeInBallard

Wino

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We are looking to rent out our Townhouse and are looking for recommendations for a local Property Management Team.

So as a Owner or Renter, any really good or bad experiences?

Thanks in advance!

Posted 11 months ago #
Nora Bell

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Good luck, Wino. Speaking as a renter I have doubts you'll find a GOOD review of a property management company. But I look forward to being wrong. :-)

Posted 11 months ago #
HeatherHeather

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We didn't like any company we found, so we ended up land-lording the property ourselves. It hasn't been so bad, as long as you get a good renter in. Anything preventing you from doing that?

Posted 11 months ago #
Walt

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I've heard it pays to go with a large concern, as they have more resources to handle day to day emergencies.

Posted 11 months ago #
h2o_girl

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As a renter, I've had good experiences with Loyal Realty and Dave Poletti. And one extremely horrible experience with Apple. I would definitely avoid them.

Posted 11 months ago #
Todd

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I have had good luck with Ballard Property Management. They are part of Ballard Realty and have a good staff. We have been using them for almost 5 years now and have had very few problems.

Posted 11 months ago #
Wino

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Thanks for the helpful responses!

Posted 11 months ago #
Mondoman

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2nd Ballard Realty. From the renter's side, they seem to be up on fixing/replacing things that go bad.

Posted 11 months ago #
JerseyGirl

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Another rec for David Poletti. We recently rented a house through them. It's been a good experience. I've dealt with several of the staff. They are all organized, courteous, and detail-oriented. Admin, cleaning, repairs, all of it has been good.

Posted 11 months ago #
iPlod

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Shameless plug for Dave Poletti.

The whole Poletti extended family are an asset to Ballard.

Posted 11 months ago #
Mondoman

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Isn't Ballard Realty more of the Polettis?

Posted 11 months ago #
gordy

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Ray Poletti is Dave Poletti's brother. They worked together at Ballard for many years, then Dave started his own company. Ray's daughters now manage Ballard Prop. Management division.

Posted 11 months ago #
Jonathan Pryce

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As a renter, Dave Poletti. Have been in the same place for 15 years now, have always had issues resolved promptly.

Posted 11 months ago #
JoeInBallard

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Two months ago, after reading this thread and asking some friends, I decided to hire Dave Poletti to manage the rental of my home while I would be out of town on business for a year or so. I did not have time to perform the due diligence I wish I could have.

I'm not posting this as a good or bad recommendation, just passing on to you what I have learned.

If you have a generic piece of property that you wish to rent out, Dave might be your man. If you are renting out your home, as I am, you may want to consider other options.

Pasted below is an email I sent to Dave and his response. Notice that your home is no longer a home and your input as the owner (and the one paying for everything) are not considered once you sign the contract. It should also be noted that in the 5 or 6 weeks that my home has been rented out there have been 7 callouts to the place, with two being actual problems. And I will give Dave and his company credit for not charging me for most of those.

Feel free to ask me to elaborate.

My email (after 4 or five emails and four or 5 unanswered calls--no answer for 5 days)

Dave:

I am sorry I missed your call. Good news that there is not an issue with the fridge.

Your comment about having all of the appliances looked at concerned me, and this was why I wanted to talk to you asap. Generally I would agree with your approach to making sure everything is good while the guy is there, but the costs of moving and getting reestablished do not afford me that luxury at this time.

There is defiantly room for improvement in regard to what information is available to your office for your customers. I was stuck hearing “I don’t know” from [office staff] on what was happening WRT the fridge and what other charges had been levied against my account and you were not available. There is absolutely no reason I can see why your customers should have to wait up to 30 days to know what a call out or repairs have cost. I am especially sensitive to this given my budget for the next several months. If possible, in the future I would like to be notified of any charges I am responsible for as soon as what the charge is is determined.

Also, I do not understand why [office staff] is giving me grief about keeping track of the warranty information for the washer I bought two weeks ago. Why putting a piece of paper in a file and checking that file prior to any call outs would not be considered due diligence is beyond me. I was simply trying to get the issue resolved in a timely fashion for the benefit of all involved.

I know things will smooth out as we get a better working relationship.

Thanks
Joe

Dave's Responce:

Hello Joe, my front desk staff is
not always current with ongoing maintenance work orders as this is not their responsibility.
[office staff] was simply trying to help but did not have answers to your questions unfortunately.

To ensure there are no more communication issues, please direct all future correspondence to the following address:

info@davepoletti.com

This way you will have one direct line of communication with regard to ongoing issues
for your property. We try to respond to questions within 24 hours.

I am sorry but we do not contact property owners in advance for general maintenance and repair items
as this is not our company policy.

if this was a concern of yours in the very beginning, I would have explained
this to you. This is our policy for all of the properties we manage. The exception
to this would be for major repairs such as sewer lines, roofing, major plumbing and electrical.

To clarify the monthly statements; Your monthly statement is made
available after the last day of each month through your owner portal.
You will be notified via email when your statements are available to view.

For a number of reasons, we do not keep track of warranty issues due to the extra time it takes to coordinate
such items.

To conclude, we have very specific procedures in place for all of the systems in place.
We do not co-manage a property with our owners. By virtue of the management contract,
we have the responsibility and authority to maintain the property in good condition at all times.

We will continue to manage your property in a professional manner in accordance with the
management agreement for your home including appliance repairs as necessary.
I hope you understand.

thank you,

Posted 1 month ago #
JoeInBallard

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Did any of the people who praised Dave Poletti in this thread actually hire him? I recently requested invoices for the "repairs" (in quotes because nothing to my knowledge was actually broken) and was told by Dave, in the email pasted below, that I would have to pay $50 for this service. Keep in mind that some of the charges are from another company that Dave runs to do repairs--a handyman service. Have you ever done business with anyone who did not freely provide an invoice detailing what was being charged? Has anyone ever told you that you would have to pay extra for a receipt? Since when is providing a receipt an "extended management service"?

Further, you won't know that there have been charges until the deposit hits your bank account. Then, when you call the office, they will tell you they don't know what the changes are for. They don't have that information, nor do they have access to any information. Then, 10 days later you will get a statement with a two or three word description of what was charged. Then, when you request more information, you are informed that will cost you extra. This is not working for me.

I just want to know where my money is going. And I have yet to receive a response to this: (start at the bottom).

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dave:

I just reviewed the agreement and I do not see a provision for a $50 charge regarding invoices. What part of the document are you referring to?

Joe

On May 9, 2013, at 12:30 PM, Joe wrote:
Wait a minute Dave:

Are you telling me I have to pay an additional $50 just to find out what services I paid for? Even if the services are provided by your own handyman company?

I just want to know what I am being charged for. How many hours went into my $450 cleaning bill for example. How did it cost that much to clean an empty 980 sqft house. I had assumed that the painting I had requested had been covered under this charge, but since I never saw an invoice, I only found out recently that this work was never done.

If you would simply provide your customers with the information at the time of service you would likely reduce the amount of time you have to spend answering questions, thereby reducing costs and improving customer service.

I find this unbelievable.

Joe

On May 9, 2013, at 12:17 PM, Dave wrote:
Hello Joe, we can certainly scan and send you copies of invoices if you
want. Just to let you know there would be a charge for this request of $50.00 per service
which is covered under the management agreement under the extended management services
provision.

We can perform this service monthly, quarterly or at the end of the calendar year to keep your cost down so just let us know
what you prefer.

thank you,

Dave Poletti - President
Dave Poletti & Associates - CRMC®
(Certified Residential Management Company)
1200 Westlake Ave N. #1001
Seattle, WA 98109
206-286-1100
dave@davepoletti.com

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On Apr 30, 2013, at 8:00 PM, Joe wrote:

Hello:

Please provide me invoices for every charge against my account including copies of utility bills since I signed
on with Dave Polleti. Please continue to provide me invoices for every charge asap. I will need these documents for tax filing.

Thank you

Posted 1 week ago #