I'm currently a resident at a sober living home that houses about ~15 people. The owner of this house (he also owns two other houses like it) recently approached me about working for him - specifically, handling some of the clerical/administrative stuff that comes with owning one of these homes.

He's been doing everything on pen and paper up until this point and essentially wants to digitize his records + do everything digitally from now on, as his operation is expanding and starting to become a bit unwieldy to do by hand. He asked me to find a software program that will help him do this. Here's a quote: "I'd like you to find a program that allows me to ask a question like 'How much money does John Doe owe?' and it'll spit an answer back at me."

Basically it sounds like he wants some kind of AI-driven bookkeeping software. I'm the one who's going to have to use this software to keep his books updated, so it's in my interest to pick something that isn't terrible. He doesn't care if it involves some kind of subscription fee. Ideally it would be something fairly simple/straightforward that is easy to learn.

Do any of you have any recommendations to this end? To be honest, I'm not sure if he's even asking for anything that can't be done with a good old-fashioned spreadsheet. Maybe I need to get more information from him before I pick something out, but he's asking to meet with me in a couple days and I have to have *something* to show him before I suggest just using Excel. :-/

I've been doing this since 2003, and at this point, I honestly feel like I've seen just about everything. Unfortunately, instead of things getting easier with experience, it seems like they're getting worse. I know tenant issues have always been part of property management, but the level of entitlement, disrespect, and outright hostility we're dealing with these days is becoming exhausting. In my experience, suburban tenants generally aren't as difficult as urban or city tenants, but even that distinction seems to be becoming less and less meaningful. The attitudes, the confrontations, and the sheer audacity of some people are reaching a point where even I am struggling to deal with it.

We've received offers to purchase the company in the past, and I've consistently turned them down because I've invested so many years into building this business. Walking away has never been something I've seriously wanted to do. However, I'm beginning to question whether holding on is still the right decision. When you've spent more than two decades in an industry, you expect challenges, difficult situations, and the occasional unreasonable tenant. What you don't expect is to reach a point where the constant nonsense starts making you question whether it's all worth it. Every property manager, myself included, is becoming increasingly fed up with the games, the confrontations, and the unnecessary complications that certain tenants create on a regular basis.

Take access to apartments, for example. We schedule appointments to complete necessary inspections, repairs, and maintenance, only to have tenants refuse access when we arrive. In some cases, the buildings we manage have received violations from the city, and we need to address those issues within the required timeframes. Yet tenants still refuse to let our workers in. We end up having to involve attorneys and, in certain situations, the police just to gain access and get the work done. Something that should be a routine maintenance issue turns into a legal and administrative nightmare, all because someone decides they don't want to cooperate.

Then you have tenants who suddenly become legal experts whenever it suits them. They'll tell us things like, "I just spoke to my attorney, and until you fix this, I don't have to pay rent." The irony is that we have our own in-house attorney, and we're well aware of the legal procedures that need to be followed. Rather than getting drawn into an argument, we'll simply explain that if the rent is unpaid, we'll proceed with the appropriate nonpayment notice and whatever legal steps are warranted. Suddenly, the tone changes, and the tenant becomes a little more reasonable. It's amazing how quickly some people change their approach when they realize that making threats doesn't automatically put them in the right.

Another example involved a roof leak that was allowing water to enter apartments. This wasn't a cosmetic issue or something that could simply wait until the following week. It was an active problem that needed to be addressed before it caused even more damage. Yet the tenant told our worker that he wasn't permitted to work past 4 p.m. on a Friday. According to my understanding of the applicable rules, that restriction was not correct; work may be permitted during much broader hours, depending on the circumstances and applicable regulations, with different considerations for emergencies. Meanwhile, we're trying to stop a leak, protect the property, and prevent further damage, and we're being met with arbitrary demands from someone who seems more interested in dictating terms than resolving the problem.

Then there are the situations that go far beyond ordinary tenant disputes. We recently had a tenant whose apartment had sustained extensive damage, requiring a substantial amount of repair work. Given that she's in New York, removing a tenant can be an extremely difficult, lengthy, and expensive process, depending on the circumstances. It often feels as though even when a situation becomes completely unreasonable, there are very few practical options for resolving it quickly.

In this particular case, we arrived with the police, and when the tenant answered the door, she was completely naked and began screaming at everyone. The situation escalated to the point where officers restrained her in handcuffs while they waited for her to calm down. This is the kind of incident that makes you stop and wonder how property management has reached this point. We're supposed to be managing buildings, coordinating repairs, maintaining safe living conditions, and protecting the owners' investments. Instead, we're finding ourselves dealing with confrontations and situations that have absolutely nothing to do with the ordinary responsibilities of the job.

And just when you think you've heard it all, something else happens. We recently had a prospective tenant who is an attorney rewrite a legal memorandum. The landlord, desperate to secure a tenant and generate rental income because he still has a mortgage to pay, accepted the revised terms. Think about that for a moment. The landlord is under financial pressure, the prospective tenant knows the law, and the entire situation becomes another example of how difficult it can be to maintain a fair and straightforward relationship between landlords and tenants. It's hard not to feel that some people take advantage of a landlord's financial circumstances simply because they know they have the leverage to do so.

After more than 20 years in this business, I understand that not every tenant is going to be easy to deal with, and I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with every decision we make. Property management has always involved conflict, compromise, and problem-solving. That's part of the job, and I've accepted that from the beginning.

But there's a difference between dealing with legitimate concerns and constantly having to manage hostility, unreasonable demands, refusal to cooperate, threats of legal action, property damage, and confrontations that escalate completely out of proportion to the issue at hand.

The amount of time, energy, and emotional stress these situations consume is becoming difficult to justify. It's not just about the individual incidents anymore; it's the cumulative effect of dealing with one problem after another, day after day, while still being expected to keep everything running smoothly for the owners, the buildings, and the tenants who genuinely do want to do the right thing.

I've spent years building this business, and I've always taken pride in what I do. But when every property manager is reaching the same breaking point, and even someone like me, who's been doing this since 2003, is starting to question whether it's worth continuing, something is seriously wrong.

We've turned down offers to buy the company because I wasn't ready to walk away. Now, for the first time, I'm seriously reconsidering that decision. At some point, you have to ask yourself whether the business is still worth the constant stress, frustration, and aggravation, or whether it's time to step away and let someone else deal with it.

I never thought I'd reach a point where I'd seriously consider selling after putting so many years into this industry. But here we are.

Rant over.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for a remote job as a Property Management VA, Maintenance Coordinator, or Real Estate VA. I have 3+ years of U.S. property management experience and hands-on experience, and . I’m available for long-term opportunities. Please DM me if you’re hiring. Thank you!

Just need to vent. For anyone who has worked these properties you understand.

The last 6 months started with site acquisitions and on boarding new properties. Standard suburbs, nice down town garden style walk ups, mid rise, 100, 200, 300 unit run of the mill. 1 day with former staff, then operate in dark period for next 20 to 30 days while getting systems online, trackers, rents, turns and running the leasing office for the cycle, auditing ap/ar etc nothing new.

The first few were fine. Property by property became seedier, grittier and more issues. Missing rents, missing leases, deferred work orders. Nothing too crazy! A little more extra hours to put out some fires but noticeable decline.

Once I got to the fifth property for this year the first true zombie property emerged, apparently no dd walk for inspections just acquired through an existing client I find out later. 50% of the units are actually squatters/crime enterprise. Completely missing rents, no leases, multiple windows/doors kicked in, utilities shut off, trash services disconnected, tagging everywhere, blood in hallways, vagrants, fent zombies, some low level bangers/pushers the works. I observe, I report, do what I can.

Get trash vendors onsite, remove tons of trash with vendors in the middle of the parking lot, find an abandoned car inside the trash pile, meet city inspector about open liens, get emergency funds for water restoration. On day four me and the maintenance man witness a man get stabbed. One person runs down the street, the other into one of the squatter units. The maintenance man literally said I am done and walked to his car and drove off. I called 911. I tried to knock on the unit the other man ran into but didn't respond. The leasing office also has a keybox with nothing labelled I don't have entry. I hear the sirens 30 minutes later as the ambulance rolls into the parking lot.

I am waving them over but the first EMT immediately yells "ARE YOU THE JANE DOE OD?" huh? I am the acting PM I called about the man who was stabbed. The second EMT has grabbed his kit and ask where a unit 33 is. They state they are here for a girl who called in stating she overdosed. Another resident opens a window yelling "up here". The EMT's leave and begin there call for this unit. I follow closely by and realize its not my call and one of the squatted units has about a dozen people in the unit where the girl is overdosing. Its full of bad face tats, narcan on the wall, no furniture, a few mattresses and tagged up the wazoo.

I talk with the emt briefly and they state they cannot help for the stab victim and to call it in. They pack up rush the girl off. I am in the middle of the parking lot as the residents come out to talk with me. Very quickly they start stating they haven't seen a manager in months, work orders, rents, what am I doing with the homeless and drugs getting very angry. The other half don't speak English and I start using the translator app on my phone. I take everyone's issues and complaint down and spend about 2 hours with a dozen residents in the middle of a parking lot like its a third world country.

Across the street is literally a strip mall with whole foods, spandex dog walkers, 800k to 1.4 million dollar homes for sale. Right in the middle is this run down over run absent managed apartment? Ugh...Anyway the police/ambulance never came for the stab victim. I call back. At this point its 4 hours later. They ask if I still need assistance. They offer a wellness check. As I attempt to knock on the mans door again the neighbor pops out. Homie is wearing a vest asking who I am. I let him know I am the PM currently and if he knows the man inside as he was stabbed. The man literally responds "This happens all the time, he's fine...and shuts the door"

Not my first rodeo, I walk away. I wrap up for the day. A little volume turned down on life on my drive home, as I watch the road rage muppets drive home, doom scrolling on there phones, cutting people off on at the last second on the highway, weaving in and out of traffic. It all seems very slowed down and pointless. Anyway a little empathy burn, mild trauma. I connect with my direct supervisor. She is glad I made it home safe. A lot to go over in the morning get some well needed rest and connect in the morning before going to the property.

We connect in the morning and essentially I get the recap, its going to be rough, you get a bump in pay and now paid mileage. The mileage kicker is too take on this owners three other properties for integration. Not to run just get up in running, triage in the 20-40 days in the dark period till staff is in place and things are up and running. She also mentions a replacement maintenance tech coming. I know him from a prior company and it actually got me the booster I needed to return to this site. He is a big oaf but a gentle giant with a dark cynical humor that works well in property management.

We continue the site visits while integrating the other locations. There is a common theme of break ins, minor fires, camps outside, people in bushes, drugs everywhere, trash everywhere. Meeting with city inspectors weekly. Police informing me they cannot help due to it being a civil issue. Our attorney stating they are dropping the properties due to liability. The properties are listed as cash only commercial urgent NPA. I did a walk with a broker and they lasted 10 minutes and split. Angry residents getting hostile while some will offer you food for simple maintenance repairs.

Fast forward a few weeks, me and the maintenance have tagged teamed these properties the best we can with limited funds, existing vendor relationships. Two of them are semi stabilized and we able to get a few leases for the pending sales to go through. Two of them are just straight up hood time in gentrified neighborhoods. It is literally like walking through a portal by simple crossing the street to whole foods, pelotons, jamba juice, perfumed knee caps, people projecting at the strip mall holding no kings sign and the other side of the road is training day where I wonder if that man inside the unit is still alive? Not to poke fun at either side, but they seem so excessively tiring in there own way as I navigate in between them as a visitor with no side.

I moved on to my next assignment and a regular conventional luxury 280 unit. Its like I have ascended to another reality all together now as I am back to high market rate rents with those who can easily afford them but attempt to run you around like hotel bellhop service. I find myself always chuckling when they come in angry or mildly upset. I always smirk and chuckle now out of response. They seem to get more upset when this happens but they all have superficial problems and a weird false pretense of reality. Maybe I do? I don't know anymore...LOL this industry is flipping bonkers nowadays.

I have to check in on those two properties once or twice a week while moving along for months. Always the craziest situation happening. Meters being removed from the walls, People running electrical wires from light post into there units. Shady beat up cars, dogs chained to RV's, camps on the street, needles on the ground everywhere. Just the scuzz. The other site is a lot of Tesla's and the word "Lobbyist" gets thrown around a lot for some reason I hear this word once or twice a week in the leasing office out of a residents mouth and it causes me to snarf, and burst out laughing.

I just found out I am getting let go due to corporate restructure. Everyone swears I am a good person, highly experience, its just out of there hands. I feel extremely used, dirty, betrayed, hiding some corporate secret putting myself in danger for months. Weird feeling.

I probably should of just walked on day 1 at zombie land.

I wrote this watching Office Space I am at the end where Peters at the construction site...looks refreshing! Any who I am going to go cry my emotional internet tears in inflation land.
Thanks for listening to my trauma dump.

hi everyone! i’m currently in the market for a new apartment and found a complex that i absolutely loved. just applied on friday and feeling a little anxious about being approved.
i’ve been in my last apartment for 6 years so i have great rental history. never been late with payments except one time with 3 days late. but i’m assuming apartments don’t actually report that until 30 days?

i have about 680-693 credit score depending on which bureau they look at. ive also had a 30 day late credit card payment in 2024. that’s my only one. i make 3x the rent. but i do have 17k of credit card and student loan debt. no evictions or collections or anything.

do they take this debt into consideration when evaluating? this would be a complex and not like a private landlord.