Learning Centre

It’s happened again – Fraud. A long time family friend owns a small mixed use building in Richmond. Our company manages his other assets but this one is smaller so he thought he would manage it himself. He called me this week to explain his dilemma.

My friend began to notice that the rents were coming in slowly and whenever he confronted the building manager there was always some reason as to why. The reasons all appeared reasonable and legitimate but over time it just didn’t add up.

Upon a more detailed examination of the financial records it would appear that the building manager has stolen approximately $30,000.00 from my friend.

He has now come to us to ask for help at getting the building on track.

What I find interesting is that the theme remains the same:

• The landlord (in this case my friend) is a nice guy and takes everyone at face value.
• He is also a very busy person – so he doesn’t have time to review the books on a regular basis.
• The caretaker probably tries to get away with something once and when he finds it relatively easy to do so he tries again and again until it becomes routine.
• There are missing records including tenancy agreements, receipts etc.
• A landlord feels his property is too small to be professionally managed so they decide to do it themselves.

If you are a landlord and find yourself in this situation it would be worthwhile talking to a knowledgeable and reputable management company. Many companies are not interested in dealing with smaller landlords or smaller buildings.

Transpacific has implemented a system whereby landlords with smaller building can get the full service that any larger landlord with a large company or large property can enjoy.

If you are unsure if your property is being the managed in the best way possible – for you – then call us and we can have a conversation.