I've worked with Brandon for more than 2 years now, as a property owner. I am so grateful to have found a property manager with his special qualifications and sense of fairness. I don't know if I could ever find the same again, so hope he stays in business for a very long time.
He has experience as a contractor, so has a rare and keen sense of what work must be done, and the most cost efficient way for it to be done. If it is simple, he may even complete the task himself, to save you money.
His contract is written in a way that doesn't just protect him (which is the standard for banks, property management companies, rental companies, etc), but protects ALL parties (owner, renter, agent). The world would be a better place if this were the standard way of doing business.
The 10% flat fee for management is amazing and real. NO OTHER FEES. And only applies when rented. I looked pretty thoroughly into another place, before Vestra, that had pretty standard practices. I noticed the fees. The base fee applied regardless of whether or not the place was rented, or for how long. This fee was equal to the percentage they would receive if my home was rented. So what would be their motivation to even rent it? Or to rent it to good tenants? And then there were other fees.
They also wanted more of an overhaul of the house, where Brandon was able to see what truly needed to be changed, and keep it to a minimum. His estimate for corrections was more than $2,000 less than theirs.
Selecting the proper manager was a great concern for me, as my home is my greatest asset. I asked about his tenant selection process, and it was solid - not relying on references from previous landlords, which can be made up to get rid of a bad tenant. Leaning on solid information, like background checks and credit scores, then adding in his own intuition.
I asked for references of current property owners and verified the people/phone numbers were real, and associated to the proper properties on the county clerk and recorder site. One of them had been managing his own properties prior to Vestra, and said that Brandon was able to do an even better job at getting repairs and replacements done for a good price than he could even do on his own. Wished he had found him sooner. Another said they were able to just, "sit back and the money showed up in their account every month". All had nothing but good things to say about him and were very pleased with his tenant selections.
He had ONLY five star reviews, from both owners and tenants. It seemed too good to be true, so I verified his business was legitimate with the state, and he did have the years of experience claimed in this business.
In working with him, myself, I have found him to be very ethical. He gives great suggestions, and it is clear that he wants his tenants to be happy, as well as his property owners. I want the same and don't want to be a negligent slumlord. At the same time, the solutions are cost-effective for me. He truly is giving the best to both parties. read more