Property management

[Sinatra]

Has anybody had any experience using a property manager to rent out a house?

Mine has been on the market for a while now and I PCS at the end of October, so I need to think about renting it out.

Suggestions? How about being a long distance landlord? How would one go about renting out the house without going through a property manager?

 

[BottleRocket]

We decided not to go with a property management company mainly because of the 10% fee they charge each month.
We do have someone we pay that manages the property. Our renters call him if something comes up, just because we didn't want to be bothered. Truthfully, we could do it without him, although it's nice to have someone deal with the repairs.
We found our renters (also military) via a website called ahrn.com. Some people use militarybyowner.com. We also listed it on the base housing list. You can do background checks via internet if needed or desired. Our renters had references and just by meeting them we knew they'd be a good fit.
You can buy a lease program and draw up your own lease.
I think being a landlord from another state has worked well for us. Again, working with military renters was key as they understand our lifestyle and we are willing to be flexible with move-out dates, etc.
It would probably be helpful if you had a handyman/friend/relative that could be used when needed.
Hope that helps - any other questions, please feel free to ask. Good Luck!

 

[gaetabob]

I've been using a property manager for about nine months now, and it's been a disaster. Our guy is a realtor who seems more concerned with selling houses than managing properties because he makes more money that way. We're about to fire him and are trying to decide on hiring a new manager or do it ourselves. The only positive thing about having a manager is if there is a problem or the tenants try to stiff you on rent, then they are better situated to handle the situation. But in my case, it's biting me in the butt because the guy's not doing his job. If you choose to go with a property manager, find a company that specializes in property management, rather than a realtor trying to get an extra $100 per month. The other down side to using a property manager is the fees...they usually want between 60-80% of the first months rent to "recover costs of listing", and then 7-8% per month, plus they usually get to keep the otehr fees (ie late payment, bounced check, etc) despite the fact it hurts your pocket, not theirs. They also get to keep the interest made off holding the security deposits...

but as I said, they're also supposed to be there to take care of problems for you...

 

[Brett327]

We decided not to go with a property management company mainly because of the 10% fee they charge each month.
We do have someone we pay that manages the property. Our renters call him if something comes up, just because we didn't want to be bothered. Truthfully, we could do it without him, although it's nice to have someone deal with the repairs.
We found our renters (also military) via a website called ahrn.com. Some people use militarybyowner.com. We also listed it on the base housing list. You can do background checks via internet if needed or desired. Our renters had references and just by meeting them we knew they'd be a good fit.
You can buy a lease program and draw up your own lease.
I think being a landlord from another state has worked well for us. Again, working with military renters was key as they understand our lifestyle and we are willing to be flexible with move-out dates, etc.
It would probably be helpful if you had a handyman/friend/relative that could be used when needed.
Hope that helps - any other questions, please feel free to ask. Good Luck!

I was an out of state landlord and used a property manager. I also would never do it again without one. Big picture, the 10% is worth every penny IMO. It's great if everything works out like Bottle Rocket's experience, but that's not always going to be the case. If you need significant repairs (even minor, recurring ones), or have to kick someone out, the property manager gives you complete peace of mind. In military towns, there's lots of turnover too, so you don't have to worry about finding new tenants every time the lease is up. My house saw four sets of tenants and was never vacant for more than 2 weeks. They should also take care of all the accounting, so it makes it that much easier at tax time. Sure you can do a background check on the internet, but that costs money and takes time. You can't do a credit check on tenants yourself (not easily or economically), so that's another area where the PM is nice. YMMV

Brett

 

[2sr2worry]

I've used a property manager for over five years and I can't say enough good stuff about what my property manager does. It's easy to be a long-distance landlord when things are good, but when things go south--like lightning strikes, hurricanes, pests, and other items--it's a great feeling to know there's someone on site--with my interests in hand--making the magic happen. Plus the management fees are deductible on your taxes along with other expenses, so it's not as big a bite as people make it out to be. Most major real estate firms run their property management divisions apart from their realty branches--that's important--and make sure it's the case for you.

 

[gaetabob]

Hey Brett and 2sr2worry, who do y'all use for property management? Is is a big name (ie ERA, Keller Williams, etc), or a local company? As I said in my previous post, I'm about to fire my p.o.s. pm and am looking to hire a new one.

 

[Flash]

I was an out of state landlord and used a property manager. I also would never do it again without one. Big picture, the 10% is worth every penny IMO.

Brett

I live all the way across the country from Whidbey and agree with Brett. The stress it takes off of me is worth the 10% alone, not to mention all of the 'pop-ups' that happen. It helps that even with the 10% I am only small amount in the red each month paying the mortgage, and the tax benefit takes care of that.

I use someone local that I used to rent with before I bought. She was a little bit of a pain when I rented, in a good way, and I have no problem with her watching over my place in Whidbey. Now if I could only sell the place.....

 

[scoolbubba]

It helps that even with the 10% I am only small amount in the red each month paying the mortgage, and the tax benefit takes care of that.

Is that including property taxes? What benefits are you speaking of? I ask as I want to buy a house with my fiance (wife by then) when I get to Jax, as prices are low enough for us to afford a house in some of the nice areas, but I don't know if I plan on staying in Jax as we're thinking Hawaii could be pretty badass for us while we are young, but we aren't looking to buy in Hawaii. I'd like to buy a house, and if we end up leaving rent it out, as I don't think the market will bounce back from the glut for a few more years.

 

[Brett327]

Is that including property taxes? What benefits are you speaking of? I ask as I want to buy a house with my fiance (wife by then) when I get to Jax, as prices are low enough for us to afford a house in some of the nice areas, but I don't know if I plan on staying in Jax as we're thinking Hawaii could be pretty badass for us while we are young, but we aren't looking to buy in Hawaii. I'd like to buy a house, and if we end up leaving rent it out, as I don't think the market will bounce back from the glut for a few more years.

Which is exactly why now is probably a good time to buy. I'm not familiar with the particulars of the JAX market right now, but things on the west coast seem like they're not going to go much lower, so if you're not looking to sell a home you're already in, now is probably a pretty good time to get into the real estate market. Depending on where you are, you can reap the rewards of the forclosure situation.

Brett

 

[scoolbubba]

Which is exactly why now is probably a good time to buy. I'm not familiar with the particulars of the JAX market right now, but things on the west coast seem like they're not going to go much lower, so if you're not looking to sell a home you're already in, now is probably a pretty good time to get into the real estate market. Depending on where you are, you can reap the rewards of the forclosure situation.

Brett

yea. we're definitely planning on buying in jax, just a matter of what we do with it when/if I leave, and selling for a profit doesn't seem like much of an option for us right now, so we might as well rent it out, hopefully to some more military members. which brings me to another question...other than vectoring ads via ahrn and forsalebymilitary, is there any way to make a lease that exclusively rents your home to military members without violating HUD or EOH laws?

 

[Brett327]

yea. we're definitely planning on buying in jax, just a matter of what we do with it when/if I leave, and selling for a profit doesn't seem like much of an option for us right now, so we might as well rent it out, hopefully to some more military members. which brings me to another question...other than vectoring ads via ahrn and forsalebymilitary, is there any way to make a lease that exclusively rents your home to military members without violating HUD or EOH laws?

Probably not, but why would you do that? There are scumbag military tenants just as there are excellent civilian ones. Having military tenants offers no real degree of responsibility or accountability over a civilian. Either way, it's ultimately your decision who you rent to, but you will be surprised at how willing you'll be to rent to a group of single guys with pets when your property has been vacant. Big picture, it's better to have marginal tenants who are paying your mortgage then an empty house sucking your bank account dry.

Brett

 

[scoolbubba]

haha, noted. all things to think about, I guess.

 

[jus2mch]

I was an out of state landlord and used a property manager. I also would never do it again without one. Big picture, the 10% is worth every penny IMO. It's great if everything works out like Bottle Rocket's experience, but that's not always going to be the case. If you need significant repairs (even minor, recurring ones), or have to kick someone out, the property manager gives you complete peace of mind. In military towns, there's lots of turnover too, so you don't have to worry about finding new tenants every time the lease is up. My house saw four sets of tenants and was never vacant for more than 2 weeks. They should also take care of all the accounting, so it makes it that much easier at tax time. Sure you can do a background check on the internet, but that costs money and takes time. You can't do a credit check on tenants yourself (not easily or economically), so that's another area where the PM is nice. YMMV

Brett

X2
Plus no annoying phone calls from tenants. Best $79 dollars I spend every month. I look at it like an investment, $79 for lots of equity.

 

[Flash]

Is that including property taxes? What benefits are you speaking of? I ask as I want to buy a house with my fiance (wife by then) when I get to Jax, as prices are low enough for us to afford a house in some of the nice areas, but I don't know if I plan on staying in Jax as we're thinking Hawaii could be pretty badass for us while we are young, but we aren't looking to buy in Hawaii. I'd like to buy a house, and if we end up leaving rent it out, as I don't think the market will bounce back from the glut for a few more years.

Yes, everything included. Tax break.

I would consider waiting to buy a house at the beginning of your career. Might be one less thing to stress about when you are on your first tour. But that is me, take it for what it is worth.

 

[scoolbubba]

Yes, everything included. Tax break.

I would consider waiting to buy a house at the beginning of your career. Might be one less thing to stress about when you are on your first tour. But that is me, take it for what it is worth.

Yea, I've thought about that, but I've had three experiences with renting so far that convinced me I'm tired of paying someone else's mortgage for them. Leaving a house in better condition than you got it (ie the roaches we didn't know were there when we moved in were killed, the carpets are steam cleaned, and the nail holes in the walls are painted and patched) and still getting half of your deposit jacked by a crooked Oklahoman will leave a bad taste in your mouth. 100 dollars to mow a lawn a week after we both moved out? sounds illegal to me, but not worth going back there to fight over. i'd rather own my house and do whatever the hell i want to it.