How many hands are in your pockets?

After watching the disaster with FIFA, I started thinking about this industry and how much bribery / kick-backs exist in our world.

When I formed this small business, the BBB told me that I needed to pay them $1500 per year or else they would list me as a company to avoid hiring. If I paid it, they told me that I would get a very positive rating and that failing to do so would probably wipe me out before I even started.

Then there were the many PM's who wanted to hire me to just do a "cosmetic" mold remediation of their 42 rental properties following the huge flood a few years ago. They were willing to pay a very lucrative contract, but I wasn't willing to get slaughtered 5 years later when the lawsuits start to show up. Not to mention the real health risks to the people living there believing that it was cleaned up.

Then came the Real Estate Agents who would tell me what the Radon numbers needed to be on the houses that they were brokering and wanted me to only test during the most favorable conditions to obtain those numbers. Again, they offered a premium reimbursement if I could make it happen.

In the end, I never joined the BBB and I am still here 7 years later. I never worked for the PM's and they are currently in a huge lawsuit and I left the Radon business the very next week realizing that I didn't want to be lumped in with any companies operating like the agent wanted.

I am a tiny spec when it comes to size of a business, but I run into these vampires every month. You guys out there working large markets must run into this on a daily basis. How bad is it in your area and is it getting worse?

Milspec,
I feel you here, I stopped doing any water damage work for PM companies...I never did big work to begin with, but now I don't do any. I got tired of being asked to just do what you need to get by, it is BS because "most" of these are for apartment type settings and the tenants are the kind always looking for a way to sue.
To cut corners is just asking for trouble so I just stopped doing them.
In the end the only one it will come down on is "US" the PM will throw us under the bus no matter how long you have worked for them.
I haven't missed it at all, in fact I sleep much better not having to worry about it.

Boy is that the truth Tom, that is why most PM's don't hire large franchise companies....they wouldn't set themselves up for lawsuits like the little guy who gets blinded by the cash.

It only takes one lawsuit that goes bad to put you on the street these days.

ya thats the only "water damage" jobs I get.. some PM asking for a "cleaning"

then you get there and its squishy wet carpet because a pipe bursted, they think theyll just pay cleaning rates and get it done for cheap

I usually tell them ill extract the water but then they need to call insurance asap

ACpower1 wrote:
I usually tell them ill extract the water but then they need to call insurance asap

Careful doing that, because I think it could be easily assumed when you do the extraction, then the problem has been 'properly taken care of'. You know they're not going to call the ins. co..............I don't even do that with a signed waver, waay too much risk for little reward.

When I get someone that wants to set their own rules and price for dealing with a water loss, I just walk away.....I will only do the job if it's going to be done properly.

ya good point, I really try and stay away from those and I think ive done about 3 in the recent years

As few as possible.
Only 1 adv source, landlord assoc. And I'm the only one in their monthly newsletter. Picked up a new LL today, 3 units.