Need advise on hiring residential mgmt agency (Madison: real estate, lease)

[Wjrgrandma]

I need advise on hiring a residential management agency since I will be renting out a home in Madison. It's a single-family home in a subdivision. Since we live out-of-state I need some advise/suggestions on a reputable agency. Since I'm just starting this process I would greatly appreciate any info such as fees, hidden costs, questions I should ask. I was also going to contact some real estate companies (Coldwell Banker, etc) to see if they provide this service. Thanks for any info!

[brianjb]

We did this for a year when we moved out of state. We knew there was a chance we would be moving back, that's why we didn't just sell it.

They charged 10% of the rent as a fee. So if you rent your house out for $1200, they will keep $120 each month and then pay you $1080.

With that fee, they advertise your place and get it rented. Once they get applicants, they do the background and credit checks on the tenants to make sure they are going to be good.

You state what rules you want to have in your lease. If it's the standard lease, then they already have those set up.

We used Hamlett Properties. We didn't have any issues with them for the year we were gone. We always had our checks deposited in the bank when it was supposed to.

One thing to keep in mind, is that if there is something that goes wrong, they will call on your behalf and get it fixed (if it's under a certain amount). One time they had to service our A/C and put in some more freon. They took that out of the rent that they mailed us that month. So it didn't cost us money out of pocket, but we got less rent. That can be good and bad. It is good, because it is all done. It is bad, because some of the things you may be able to repair yourself if you were in town, but they will call a pro.

[Wjrgrandma]

brianjb- thanks for the info!

[brianjb]

You're welcome.

You can also negotiate whether lawn care is included in the rent or not. If you have a lawn mower you want to leave behind, you can let them use it. But you will want to include it in the lease, so when they move out the property management company checks to make sure it is still there.

[Elizabeth_G]

Valerie Miles with Summit Realty is amazing. I always recommend her. 256-830-8900
Rosenblum has been great to deal with as well for a few of my sellers. Best of luck to you!