Core Ohio Realty Advisors

Being my former home, I care very much about my rental property’s upkeep as well as the well-being of my tenants. I am therefore very much an involved property owner that requires close, informed contact with property management. Unfortunately, this has been an issue for CORE to the point that we have had to part ways and me to write this critical review. In all fairness, I should’ve switched to a different company MUCH sooner, but living 3 hours from my property made it more a convenience for me to keep them. I also genuinely wanted a chance for CORE to learn from its mistakes as we are all certainly imperfect beings. Here is rundown of my experience CORE. I believe some are contractual violations: •Failed to inspect the property on a regular basis as defined by contract. Inspections have mostly occurred at my request and by myself •Failed to send itemized receipts. While a general monthly financial statement is provided, I have to repeatedly request CORE send me copies of all receipts and work-orders. •Failed to assure contracts and agreements are performed in accordance with their terms and to inform the owner in the event performance is inadequate or contrary to terms agreed. More detail in the contractor section below. •Failed to provide periodic reports of property condition. I received updates the first year, but now only upon request and after noticing maintenance charge on monthly statements. •Failed to allow owner to provide agent with specific directions as agent may reasonably require from time to time to guide in the operation in the property. I have requested CORE obtain multiple quotes for any big repair jobs (e.g. sewer, roof) and even sent the PM companies to contact but to no avail. •Failed to disburse security deposit. CORE requires owners to hold tenant security deposits (this may have changed, but this has always been the case for me). I was advised by my initial PM that I would be responsible for security deposit disbursement, despite the contract describing otherwise. Not knowing any better (which is my fault) I have had to keep a spreadsheet of all expenses incurred due to tenant negligence and have made disbursements though this is CORE’s job. •Failed to assist me in complying with all Federal, State, and Local laws, codes and regulations affecting the Property. I had no idea until recently that Ohio Law requires 5% annual interest accrual be included with any returned security deposits. CORE should have informed me of this. •Failed to use reputable contractors. Several repeat repairs of work performed by CORE service providers and/or recommended contractors have been necessary. Moreover, work has not always been performed in a timely manner despite multiple assurances from CORE: 1)A/C installation. CORE recommend I hire Blue Flame for central A/C installation. Within a year of installation the system failed. The PM knew of this a couple weeks prior to the expiration of the installation warranty, but did not notify BF until about 2 weeks after expiration. I was stuck paying for new labor costs which would have otherwise been covered. System failed 2x more in the next 2 years, a period in which Blue Flame also went out of business. After the 3rd, failure a different company was finally used. I have spent close two twice what I paid for the initial installation in repairs. 2)2nd floor bathroom, recurring ceiling leak. This has been ‘repaired’ at least 3 times in the same exact spot. The cumulative cost of these repairs is close to $800. Each time, the CORE PM and contractor assured me the leak was caused by a different issue. I requested work guarantees after the 2nd fix, to which I received a response that the company did not know of any roofer who would guarantee a roof patch. This is not true, as I had warrantied roof work performed when I lived at the property. I had to send them contact info for different roof vendors that would warranty their work and requested that an outside roofer inspect the property. Turns out it was a much bigger roofing issue all along. In fact, the entire roof required replacement for ~$5,000. I believe a more accountable PM company would’ve called roofer out the first time and saved me the expense of the ineffective repairs. 3)1st bathroom, recurring ceiling leak. This was also ‘repaired’ on at least 3 occasions. I have spent close to $1,000 on repeat repairs. Issue turned out to be leaking 2nd floor plumbing, which the CORE contractor was adamant he could fix for good. This required a partial floor tear out (and replacement) and cost ~ $800 between labor and supplies. 2 weeks later, tenants noted that the leak was back in the same spot. The CORE contractor blamed the re-occurrence on shoddy workmanship that predated his work by several years, and that this new leak, even though it was in the same spot was therefore not his responsibility. As far as I am concerned the pipe could have been leaking from more than one spot initially, which he failed to detect, and/or his work could have created a secondary leak. Either way the original issue of a leak was not addressed. Good customer service should have dictated that the work be completed at no extra cost to me. That is the risk a business owner takes in guaranteeing his/her work. I had to argue this point with the CORE owner to get him to pay 3rd repair, especially given the A/C debacle. 4)Rodents. My property is an older house with a stone-mortar foundation that will for develop gaps with over time. This means that rodents will and have found their way in to the house. Each time this has happened (4 times in as many years) CORE has guaranteed me the issue was resolved with bait stations and foundation repairs/gap filling. And yet, the issue persists. I understand that this is a complex issue, but if a guarantee is made, there is an expectation of resolution. I have had to hire my own contractor to properly place bait seal the foundation to eliminate the issue. 5)Other incomplete/poorly completed work. I paid for drywall work which I discovered was never completed during an onsite inspection in November 2018. After notifying the PM, it still took another 1.5 months of constant reminders to get it done. Moreover, the quality of the work was subpar and will require rework. For example, one wall section was mudded but not sanded down prior to painting. It is a lumpy, unattractive mess. •Failed to address owner/tenant repair concerns in a timely manner that could have resulted in a potential safety issue. I performed an onsite inspection on a Friday in which I noticed a condensate leak in the HVAC unit. I immediately notified my PM who guaranteed that an HVAC contractor would be on site the following Monday. When I didn’t hear anything by the following Tuesday afternoon, I called, texted and e-mailed the PM. After not hearing back from her, I called CORE’s owner directly who did not help other than to say one PM was out sick and the other had a pet emergency. On Wednesday, an appointment was finally scheduled by a PM, but for Friday morning, one week after I the initial request. After not hearing back from CORE Friday afternoon as to how inspection went, I called the HVAC biz myself. They informed me that the Friday appointment was cancelled because CORE had an outstanding balance on a different property! I called CORE to notify them of the issue, to which my PM replied she had no idea about the account hold. She did pay it and rescheduled HVAC for the following Monday (10 days from the original requested date). When the technician inspected the HVAC system on that Monday, he found out that improperly glued vent pipes was causing the condensate leak AND found a serious safety concern – the water heating vent had at some period time been knocked off and was leaking carbon monoxide. He immediately shut the heater off until the ventilation could be properly and completely repaired. While the monoxide issue was certainly an unknown, the overall repair could have surely been addressed in a much more expeditious manner. As it turns out, the tenants notified CORE of the condensate issue in 2017, but never received any follow-up. I found this out after I recently (again) requesting copies of all work requests for the past 3 years. It is impossible to know whether monoxide was an issue back then as well, but nevertheless makes me question CORE’s commitment to tenant safety. •Failed to be accessible to owner. It is difficult to get a hold of PM by phone or e-mail. Excuses I have heard when I finally do manage contact are standard-frustrating: ‘I never got your e-mails’, and bizarre/comical: ‘I didn’t get your VM because I didn’t know I have a work VM. My PM seems to want to only communicate via text message. While this is okay to get someone’s attention quickly, it is not adequate for a more in-depth follow-up of a maintenance or other issue. I have had to specifically request via text, e-mail and voicemail that the PM call me to fill me in on details and to avoid misunderstandings which have happened. •Failed to familiarize themselves with property. My most recent PM admitted she had been to the property even though she had been managing it for quite some time. This came as a bit of a shock and made me realize how important it is to have a hands-on PM so that the severity of a maintenance issue is properly understand and is handled in a timely manner. •Failed in accountability, competence and trust. The PMs and even CORE owner have quick to blame anyone else for a job gone wrong and other issues, even relatively minor ones like showing up 45 minutes late for property inspection in my presence. I have also heard a myriad of excuses for lack of follow-up and/or job completion. Without getting into even more exhausting detail, suffice it to say, a PM professional’s job is stay constantly plugged in to their properties, to follow-up in a timely manner with owners and tenants, and to maintain professional accountability.