Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Home rentals....pros/con of property manager?

I've been stationed in the Norfolk area for years but I'm getting out this summer. We bought a nice house here two years ago that we plan to rent out.

I am really on the fence about using a property manager. I will be living about 4 hours away and so can't keep a close eye on it. It would cost about $200 a month. I can live with that if it saves a bunch butt pain and keeps the house rented and in good shape. But, if the renter later decides to buy from me....then I will have to pay the realtors fee if they placed the tenant, rather than being able to do a private sale.

If I use a property manager, I am concerned about finding a good one that I can trust. I've heard some of bade experiences in general.

I'd be interested to hear others good/bad experiences renting with or without a management company.

I've got a property manager taking care of my mom and dad's old place, about three hours from here.

It's costing me $75 per month.

It stood vacant for over a year, and Dad was too old to keep it up properly before we moved him to a nice retirement center near here. Getting it back in good shape has not been easy, and the property manager has earned his keep.

Since it's in a small town, the family has a lot of ties there. It was easy enough to call a friend in the real estate business, who recommended him. I certainly would not turn the management over to a stranger without extensive background checking.

If I planned to rent, I would seriously consider a good property manager, but $200.00 a month sounds on the high side. Around here they can usually be had for about half that. If they keep the place rented just one additional month a year they've earner their keep, and that's before they pick up the rent and answer that 2 a.m. maintenance call for you.

I was a property manager for a duplex rental for 3 years. The owners lived out of state. I was paid $300 per month. It was a newer property so not a falling in dump or slum.

I would never ever do it again, not for $3000 per month. It was the absolute worst job I've ever had in my life, worse than shoveling [bleep] at a hog farm. I'm a people person and I could not put up with tenants. I know people do it all the time and make good money at it but it was NOT for me. I firmly feel that I will never own or manage another rental so long as I live. If for some reason I find myself with any kind of rental property I will definately use a reputable property manager until such time as I can sell. If they are a good manager they definatly earn their money.

I've got a couple of rentals and I use a property manager. Costs me 6% per month. I can live with that. These are fairly new houses and they are pretty nice. I want a property manager that knows how to do credit checks, back round checks, I want to know about the people moving in. I have my rules that I had to his and he's done me a good job. I live probably 8 miles from the rentals, but I pay him to pick good tenants and make no bones about that. So far so good. NO CATS, they can really make a mess. I expect him to go in there every so often to check on the house "safety check". Something needs to be done I send a handy man friend. He checks things out to. Money well spent. Unless it's a pretty expensive house $300 sounds pretty steep.

I had a decently nice house built in Beaufort, S.C. when I was stationed there in the mid 90's. When I transferred I kept it for a rental and paid a property manager to do it for me. I'd highly recommend it, she took care of everything and it would have been a huge PITA to do it from 8 hours away. I'd definitely do some research on them though, the lady I had was well known and a no nonsense type of gal, she kept things running well. If something broke she called the repairman and took care of it, I heard about it after the fact unless it was something spendy then she'd call and talk to me first.

$200 a month does sound kind of high though, I think the going rate is usually about 10% of the rent so unless you're renting for $2K a month I'd say it's high.

Check with the folks at the housing office on the base, they should know who are the good property managers in the area.

People will wreck your $hit and have not a care in the world. My family owns many rentals and spent the better part of my high school summers working on them. Even if you check them out to the smallest degree some will slip through. My BIL rented a house to some people that checked out all good. Well they left without telling him in the middle of February let the power get shut off and well lets just say some plumbing was in order........ Like all the plumbing in the whole house.

We rented out our house on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska in the mid 90's for a 2 year stint in Barrow. Bad move.

In 2010 for a "1-3" year stint in Kotzebue (we are still in OTZ tho as I type this I am "home" on the Kenai), we left it "empty". With a couple neighbor watch dogs. The rental damage just ain't worth the inevitable deterioration of an empty dwelling, despite the income (potentially $1500 or more/month)

Fucxk home renters!

We have a couple good'uns in our two rental apartments elsewhere, however.

But never again our home.

I am a renter, but I learned early on to respect where I live, mine or not. My uncle lives in the NE but he owns a house in south carolina. He hired a property manager who ended up renting his house to her friends who destroyed the place. He hates being a landlord and I don't blame him.

I have been in this place for almost a year and a half and my landlord said I was his best renter.

Property management is a ripoff business from both sides. They get 10 or 15% and the only thing they do...........is scream at the renter when the check is late.

THEY DO NOT PERIODICALLY INSPECT JACK SCHITT!

Cake job........sorry ass people.

I've been a landlord twice and never again,with or w/o a PM.Too much drama,late payments,stuff stolen or broken beyond repair.We have sold the houses and moved the money into our own home.I thought it would be a manageable semi-retirement income,but I feel better with my money in my hands...

+1000 been there with 2 houses as well with multiple tenants and out of 4 tenants had one decent tenant the rest were tenants from hell.

I've done both. Hire a property management company. Shop around for one you are comfortable with. Being 4 hours away will be a headache without one.

God bless people that rent out properties, there is no way in HELL I could ever do it.

I used a bonded and licensed property management firm for a house I owned in Eureka. They charged 8% of the rent ($1,700 a month) and did an excellent job.

If you use a local bonded and licensed firm and check references you should have no problem.

Now that your house is no longer your primary residence,it may be treated like a "second home"...but if you draw income from it,it may have just become a "business". I'd treat it like one and get a property manager.

You might also want to talk to your CPA to find out how your tax picture might have changed,i.e., going forward will the sale be tax exempt or will you pay capital gains on any profit from the sale? How will the income be treated if you keep it and rent it?

In any event,a management fee and a broker's commission are nothing more than expenses and factored into your tax picture whether you keep it for cash flow, or sell it.

There's also the practical side....you should always keep a third party buffer between yourself and the tenants,preferably a pro who does this sort of thing all the time.

I'd get a good property manager,among other things I'd do, if I intended to hang on to the property.

One nice thing about rent is it isn't counted as income when you are first getting social security.

Like any profession or trade if you get a good one they are well worth the money. If you hire a bad one it a pain in the azz and you wont be happy.

I was a landlord for 18 months and never again, no amount of money is worth the headache.

I'd get a highly recommended property manager-- or not rent it at all.

I was in similar situation 15 years ago, and knew horror stories from friends who had rented their houses. We found a superb property manager who vetted potential renters fiercely, had a stable of reasonably priced good handy men to fix things and handled all. It was such a good experience that I considered buying another house to put under the same property manager.