We were taken for a ride by a property manager we had in Toronto. His services were cheap (5% of the rent and no charge for new tenants except advertising costs). That's real cheap, if you don't count the fact that he was stealing rent money from us!
Before hiring him to manage our tri-plex in Toronto, I researched him a bit and learned that he was a Mom & Pop-type shop and was registered with the Better Business Bureau, but I didn't check references or dig much deeper than that. His scam? He collected $950/month from our tenants but only told us we were getting $890!
The only reason we caught onto his scam was because we moved into the house and the tenants started paying us the rent instead of him. Imagine our surprise when the cheque was for $950, and we were expecting $890!
Looking back, we could have easily protected ourselves. Now, we want to help you prevent it. Here's some tips:
* When ads are placed for your unit(s), get copies of the ads. Also, ask where the ads are being placed and check for the ads yourself (looking back, I had noticed an ad for our unit for $50 more than we had agreed to rent it for. I wrote him to change it, and he said he would, but now I think it was a red flag that I should have recognized).
* Ask for copies of the signed leases.
* Ask for proof of expenses incurred (always get receipts, but for larger repairs or purchases get pictures or visit the property yourself).
This may not save you completely, but had we been able to get copies of the leases or asked to see the ads, our property manager would have had a harder time stealing from us.
