Why break away from big property managers?

When we bought the house last year, we took over the sellers' agreement with one of the big rental companies -- partially because we had to recognize the existing reservations, and partially because we weren't in a position to make any big changes quite yet.  And at first it seemed like a good match: the company came with a built-in book of business, and would manage the property while we weren't there.  But as the summer progressed, we realized it wasn't an ideal situation.  

The cleaning crew just wasn't doing a great job.  When we visited one turnover day — after it had passed inspection — we found dirt in the tub and stickiness on the table.  Another day, our contractor FaceTimed us to show us the trash that the previous renters, and then the cleaners, had left in the yard for the next renters.  And this wasn’t just a one-off year for them. We later found this image on Google Street View showing that the yard was totally overgrown in the middle of the 2019 rental season.

Google Street View, July 2019.

When we brought up out concerns, the company actually told us that they don't have the staff and the bandwidth to fully care for each house in their portfolio.  The big companies have hundreds of houses to manage and, simply out of necessity, they're in the business of "good enough to get by." 

But that's not what we want when we vacation, and that's not what we want for you, either.

So we spent the off-season cleaning and fixing every nook and cranny. And then we hired a new property manager who cares about our house -- and your vacation experience -- as much as we do.  (We knew he was the right one when he called out the dust on our fan blades at our first meeting!) 

We hope you give us a chance as we strike out on our own.  We can't wait for you to experience the difference.