Property Manager or owner on lease agreement?

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Permalink Reply by Echo Cheng on September 15, 2010 at 8:56pm

It is not just who's name on the lease agreement. I have a rental property in Ithaca New York and it was managed by a property management company. The manager literally did everything from signing the lease with his name, move in..move out, cleaning, security deposit return.

I was suit by a tenant because he did not agree with the Security Deposit been deducted. he thought the cleaning fee was too high.

My name was not on the lease, I did not collect the cleaning fee yet the verdict was I have to return some fee to the tenant.

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Permalink Reply by Eunice on October 12, 2010 at 3:14pm

in this case, the cleaning fee should have been implemented with a signature at move in, by the tenant.Pictures are the way to go , whenever holding back a security deposit take pictures to back up your claim.it wouldn't be a bad idea to take pictures in all cases. At move in you can show these pictures as an example of good tenancy and an example of how you want your unit returned to you.

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Permalink Reply by Cammie Allie on September 21, 2010 at 8:07am

Absolutely should be the property manager. The property manager is the acting agent for the owner, and the owner information should never be disclosed to the residents. This is why you hire a company to begin with.

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Permalink Reply by mike vickrey on September 22, 2010 at 2:37am

I never put any info about the landlord on my lease agreements. Part of the service I provide is to keep the tenant from bothering the landlord about anything. I am the sole point of contact for the tenant. I have a few landlords who perform some minor maintenance on their own properties. Even then, I have them identify themselves only as the "handyman" and not as the owner. As in other real estate transactions if you let the "buyer" (read tenant here) and the "seller" (read landlord here) get together unattended, agreements will be made (either expressed or implied) that I will have to referee in the future.

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Permalink Reply by Karen McDaniel on September 22, 2010 at 5:42am

I agree with you guys, but I guess some property manager do it. It's funny though of all my dealings with property managers in different states, it's always Columbia, SC where I get all the surprises. I've been though about 6 different property mgmt firms and I can tell you I would not recommend any of them for several reasons. Poor tenant screening,poor communication,eviction nightmare,lost tenants rent check,fighting with HOA mgmt,no updates on property etc.....
I'd really like to hear from any property manager in the central SC and tell me different, cause I could really use you.

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Permalink Reply by Eunice on October 12, 2010 at 3:07pm

Technically the lease should be signed by the leasing agent/property manager. The property Manager is taking on the responsibility of screening the tenant, collecting monies, performing the move in inspection so why not sign the lease. i certainly understand why you felt that way.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Nolan on November 3, 2010 at 7:58am

In the state of Tennessee, the only time that I mention an owner's name is when the owner is holding the security deposit. If the owner is holding the deposit, you have to disclose where the money is being held, so you have to disclose the name, address and contact information of the owner. But if the owner does not hold the security deposit, their name should not be on the lease at all, only the property managers.

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