Do not use them, (in my opinion) and here's why, with proof: I'm an out of state investor that moved two properties to Lubin because of the first phone call I had with Ryan and that I wasn't happy with the previous PM. The previous property manager didn't vet tenants well and I thought was a bit pricey on repairs and maintenance. Ryan told me that, for one, "We can save you money" and "I'm not going to bull $hit you." So, I decided to go ahead with them. The two houses I moved over were both empty and needed to get rent-ready repairs done. I received the quotes for both houses. One was $2400 and the other was $9300. Both seamed legit sine one house was in pretty good condition and the other needed a lot of work, (based on all the photos I saw). I decided to start with the lower bid, get it rented then go to the more expensive one. Long story short, the $2400 ended up at $10,760. (per my tax return). I tried to get explanations, over the phone and in emails. On the phone, Ryan would only say, "things go over" or just change the subject. Emails were ignored (for this question). I would go to the owners portal to see the bills. Many of the invoices only stated, "Materials" or "Repairs". (See photos), after the original estimate was surpassed. Other management companies, we've used, would give an estimate and that would be the final cost. Lubin was the "only one" that consistently went over. I kept trying to get explanations and started emailing the office gals in particular, Kristen. She, finally said she would get me a breakdown "by tomorrow". No response. Maybe there was a good explination but they refused to give it to me. See copy and pasted email from Kristen:
On Thursday, February 25, 2021, 05:43:13 AM PST, Kristen Flanigan "kristen@lpmproperty.com wrote:
"*** I will look into your portfolio and get a better breakdown. I know that after the tenant moved in we had to make additional repairs.... I will pull your portfolio and give you a breakdown of what we have done. Ill have that for you by tomorrow. Thanks"
A week later, I ask again:
This is me:
On Wed, Mar 3, 2021 at 10:55 AM R B ****@att.net wrote:
"Did we ever get a break down of "repairs" and "materials"?"Thanks,***
On Wednesday, March 3, 2021, 09:30:35 AM PST, Kristen Flanigan kristen@lpmproperty.com wrote:
"They should all be on the portal as they are billed."
Now, keep in mind. The owners portal is where it shows "Materials" and "Repairs".
Now, we have the second house were the estimate was $9300. We flew to Memphis, met with Ryan, at the house and I explained, I wasn't happy about the huge increase on the first house. He now tells me know, "Expect $25,000 to $30,000 for the rehab on the second house (including central A/C). So, we found another PM and had them to the rehab for the second house and the total was $9200 plus new central a/c unit then some additional unexpected storm damage for a total of around $13,000.
Now, we'll talk about Lubin's honesty. The first example, quoted in my opening paragraph, which, over time, played out to be not true. Next: One of the tenants, because of covid and MHA, was in charge of her own house inspection and was making unreasonable demands before she would sign off. It was section 8 so I asked Ryan for the contact info of her case worker. He said (see email copy and paste):
On Wed, Mar 10, 2021 at 2:50 PM R B ****@att.net wrote:
Please send me the case worker info........
On Wednesday, March 10, 2021, 12:57:43 PM PST, ryan lubin ryan@lpmproperty.com wrote:
"We dont have it the resident can give you it all."
Principal BrokerLubin Property Management LLCThanksRyan Lubin
Another time, he told me, "We work with those people (MHA) every day". I told him, I saw the case on the public county website. Then, he changed his story and told me, "I'll check with our legal department to see if we can give it to you". Two minutes earlier, they didn't have it. He never got back to me.
OK, now accounting errors. These are two examples of errors that I "did" catch. I questioned a statement that looked like I was billed twice for manager fees, that totaled close to $400. I brought this to the attention of one of the accounts and she questioned Ryan on what is correct. Email, copy and paste below:
"On Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 12:32 PM Veronica Bailey veronica@lpmproperty.com wrote:
"Ryan,In October when MHA took funds back for May - September they also repaid at a higher rate. The owner was charged management fees again for May - September. Should these fees be reimbursed? Thanks,Veronica BaileyAccounting Assistant"
And Ryan's response:
"ryan lubin ryan@lpmproperty.com
To:Veronica Bailey
Cc:Bethany Sims,Erica Johnson,R B
Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 10:39 AM
"He should only pay on what we got."
Due to space restrictions, the rest of the review is in the first attached photo... read more