This is a "property management" and "construction" business run by Kyle and Katherine "Kathy" Sharp…read morein St. Lawrence County, NY. These people are crooks.
New to utilizing management companies and being hours away from a property with limited options, I signed with them in a rush. After paying thousands and then having them steal thousands, I've learned very important and expensive lessons. Typically, i try not to hurt small businesses but I can't allow these people to extort anyone else. Here are the things that should be criminal:
They require an initial $500 in a "contingency" clause. The trick here is that they include a box that they don't check to make it a nonrefundable "fee" that Katherine Sharp will refer to as "standard." 4 contracts later, i know there's nothing standard about it.
They argue for 12% minimum (Which is usually for big companies with more than two employees) and expect this even when the place is vacant. This is also not normal.
They will agree to things but won't put them into the contract so when you finally ask, they'll say "no, it's not in the contract." In my case, it was a Profit and Loss Statement that i only wanted yearly. Kathy Sharp offered to do it quarterly to get me to sign. Still, I handled it for the first year. When I finally asked, I was told no.
They have an "evergreen" clause that makes this last forever. You have 1 day a year to close the contract or they will extort the "fees" for another year out of you and not do any work. In my case, they stole thousands after making more off of the property than me for over a year.
When they want even more money (even with vacant apartments) you'll notice that they have mowed the lawn every 5-7 days as opposed to 10-14. They pay themselves to do that work and won't mention it if you don't.
Once you mention being unhappy and replacing them, they start pressuring you to tell them immediately that you will replace them. My assistant suggested doing the communication and continuing until THEY decided it was okay to release US but they continuously ignored him. This is also crazy, as a management company should work for the owner, not the other way around. They also gave my personal information to the tenants and stole the rent to pay themselves as if they were working on a fully occupied property for the next seven months. They also never returned the padlock keys to the new management company and never gave my assistant a missing invoice.
In the end, my expensive lawyer said the time and hassle it will take to get the thousands back wouldn't be worth it for me. I'm sure there are plenty of things coming their way. I hope they'll know they deserve what they get.
