MARGARET CARADINE WRIGHT INC

On property #1: He collected the rents until the lease expired. The place has been vacant April 2010-Dec 2010 when he was terminated. We found an ad where he advertised a higher rent than we agreed to and didn't lower it when we asked (eventually he did but it took lots of calls to make it happen). He said the higher rent amount was "market rate" and we should be able to get that and he didn't need to discuss it with us. The place was not cleaned up in April after the tenant left (ripped up tub surround, broken windows, trash, ripped up wall paper, broken light fixture, broken siding, trash left in the basement, general mess - plus graffiti "I lov blood gang" that was not painted over). He was responsible for having utilities on and paying for them (he should then bill us). We're now in collections for the sewer that hasn't been paid in months. The gas, electric, water are off -and it's 24 degrees outside - leaving the property at risk of bursting pipes - and how do you show property in the dark? We've asked for bills, marketing suggestions, property suggestions, contact - nothing. The marketing was lacking. He made one or two postings on craigslist and expected the place to rent. When I looked in late November, the last posting was 10/29 - with a higher rent amount than what we agreed on. He did not give us any idea that anything was wrong with the place. He said there was nothing we could do to improve the home to make it more attractive to tenants. REALLY? See the photos and tell me if anything could be done to make it look more attractive. The second property that we took over in September (that he was managing) is an equal mess. We took over this property when the owners stopped paying their mortgage to us. They couldn't pay the mortgage because Jerry Davis did not collect rents and made no attempt to remove the tenant and get a new one. The tenant (that he placed) had been living for free for months at the time we took over - turns out the tenant moved out in JULY, turned off the utilities, left stuff there as a storage unit- including food in the fridge without electric (yes, during the summer). He said he couldn't get in touch and didn't know what was going on. He collected past rents and kept it because the previous owner owed him money. We repeatedly called for feedback, financial reports, and information. Only after multiple calls would he take our call - but he would not call us back. Trust your gut! Make a change when you're not getting the results you expect from a pro. The new PM (on both properties) contacted the tenant on the first try and she's moving her stuff out this weekend (December). They also said he was marketing the place for at least $100 over market rates for the area. The new PM's are going great. Jerry said he's managing about 200 units and has a good staff including maintenance staff. He sounds like a dream when you first talk to him. But here we are. We're in collections, have a freeloader and a property that's been vacant NINE months and is a complete mess. We're working to get the utilities on and hope that the pipes don't burst in the mean time. We have maybe thousands of dollars of work to do and months of missed rent. Out of state investors in need of a PM should really think twice before considering his services. We hired a professional and expected him to do what we hired him for. Since we're out of state we put a lot of faith and trust in licensed professionals - to our demise. Best of luck on your investment properties in the St Louis area.