came to the decision to hire a new property manager for my Syracuse real estate investments this past winter. After scheduling a trip to come to town the following week, I started calling around to property managers who came up in various online searches. Out of the eight or so management companies that picked up the phone, four of them seemed like it would be worth scheduling a meeting with. CNY Asset Management was very prompt in returning my initial phone calls which I took as a good sign. The company owner, Sean Corcoran, also brought along one of his employees to answer some additional questions at our first meeting. I was impressed to see that sort of effort up front. In comparison to other property managers I met with, CNYAM was hands down the most organized and professional from my first encounter. I found them to be much more motivated build a good reputation as a management company, and they had a solid understanding of a healthy tenant/landlord relationship. I expect a property manager to have open communication with my tenants and to have a good handle on what's happening at each of my properties. Sean talked at length about dealing with various tenant issues from lease renewals and late fees to repair items in a prompt and contentious way that left everyone feeling like they were treated fairly. Taking good care of my investments and addressing tenant related issues quickly was very important to me. Being a good landlord is a responsibility that requires attention and organization. If I'm going to expect tenants to pay on time and treat my properties with respect, then my manager needs to hold up the owner's end of the deal. I was really impressed that CNYAM had dedicated people to handle various components the tenant/landlord relationship (rent collection, repairs, apartment turnover, billing, etc).
After deciding to hire CNYAM, that hands-on people driven approach has really helped in working through some tough situations passed on from the previous property manager. I've had them managing my properties for seven months now and all my apartments are fully leased for more money than they have ever been. One of the biggest differences in making my decision was that CNYAM has a great system for screening potential tenants and handling work orders. CNYAM uses online tenant screening tools to sort through dozens of prospects and find the most qualified potential tenants before they schedule any appointments. They also use their software to notify both the current tenant and the prospective tenant about appointments so no one falls through the cracks. Their online system that coordinates workflow management where tenants can notify CNY about repairs and monitor progress online has been well received; most of my long term tenants have opted into the website and are now submitting repair requests online. I also like their online owner reporting features, so I can keep a handle on what's happening from afar. Overall, CNYAM seems particularly well set up to manage properties on the University and Tipp Hill as they already have a number of assets under management in those areas. So far I'm very happy with my decision. read more