Advanced Property Management

I used APM for five months and was very disappointed with my experience. I was a little circumspect initially, but I could not find anyone else. APM performed disappointingly in many ways and there was nothing they did well.
First, APM repeatedly and completely failed to inspect my property before it was rented. I called at least three times to discuss this and no visit was ever made. After the property was rented I continued pointing out they should still visit it, such as when I had an ongoing communication problem with the tenet (English was the tenet’s second language). It was disturbing APM did not initially understand why seeing the property before taking management was a necessity. They never visited the property.
Second, another responsibility of APM was to contact the renter and explain the manner in which rent was to be paid. The renter was an immigrant with a weak command of the American language and did not fully understand this process. It was when payment was paid directly to me from the renter and not APM that it was clear there was a misunderstanding. This happened again in the second month. In the third month the renter mailed the payment to APM. However, the check came late and APM did not react. After seven days past due I contacted APM and ONLY then did they contact the renter. APM received the check by the last day of the grace period (10 days), but then I had to wait an additional seven days to receive it from APM. Smart phone apps allow this to be done in minutes.
Third issue is the speed at which they respond. Specifically, I needed a standard APM lease made by the next day because the tenant needed to move in soon. I did not want to pass on this tenant since I had went through numerous showings and denied many people because they could not pass the background check. I gave APM all the information they needed up front to complete a lease for signing. All APM needed to do was plug in a small amount of information to complete the lease. Since they could not do this I had to use a standard State of New Jersey lease and then add an additional clause in order to make it work.
Fourth regards the language barrier, APM was quick to point out there was a communication problem, but made no attempt to address it. An obvious solution would have been to speak to the renter in person, which was doubly important given APM still had never seen this property in person.
The fifth issue is APM does not regularly provide monthly statements, although they say they do if there is an irregularity. This is not a big deal, but another manager I use for another property does this and I find this reassuring that everything is going smoothly. On one occasion I asked for a statement of all activity since the beginning of the lease (four months worth) since I had received any records and they said they would provide it next week (this was a Wednesday). They should be able to provide this in 24 hours, if not quicker.

I would rather go it alone than use APM.