Rentals can be as big pain in the ass as the management companies make them. If it were me (and I'm glad it isn't) I would check with rental management companies in the area you are considering before getting serious. If it sounds like they are BS'ing you or shining you on, it is probably not a great fit for you. No way I would try to do it and manage it myself. The rental management companies have the customer lists and contact numbers to try to keep them rented out so you can make your payments and hopefully , they have the maintenance people available as part of the contract to keep your rental in top shape. I'm assuming you would have to supply the insurance in case of a serious issue like someone burning the place down, or stealing all the furniture in the place, etc....
I've known a few people who made pretty good money doing this and had good management companies taking care of it for them. Like anything, it is all in how you manage it and your expectations...
This mirrors my experience of owning vacation rental properties for nearly 30 years.
Regardless of how good the management company is, as the owner, you have to keep on top of them or the quality of their work will slide. They will meet your demands, but seldom exceed them, so it pays to be demanding. Polite, but demanding. I walk through each of our units every 6 weeks, just to make sure that they are doing a good job and that they pay attention to things like cleaning all the way to the backs of corners and replacing burned out light bulbs. The more you care, the more they will care. We dropped one management company after I caught one of the owner's kids in a unit that was listed as vacant. Trust, but verify, is always good advice.
