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I am trying to rent out my property at Herndon and would like to take some suggestions. What are the options that i have to rent out my property.
Can any one recommend any property management companies..? Or Rent out(Owner) is the best option. I am totally confused and i read online and found mixed reviews about property management vs rent by owner.
Do you live near your rental property? Can you handle maintenance yourself or the contacting, scheduling, etc of tradesmen like plumbers, electricians? Or would you prefer to pay a management company to do it for you?
I used a real estate company to advertise and show my property when I was looking for a tenant. But after I got a tenant, I've managed everything myself. I've been lucky with my tenant, your experience may vary.
I can't help you with names of specific property management companies, but as a renter, I can tell you what you want in one as you make your decision and provide some decision points.
1. You will get significantly less money upfront using a reputable property management company than renting yourself. You will have to set up a fund to pay for repairs and replenish it when it is diminished. The property management company will take a cut when leasing the place as well as a monthly maintenance fee. On the other hand, you don't have to worry about being available at all, much less 24/7, to handle service calls, lockouts, etc. Those time and money hassles will be covered.
2. You don't have to worry about credit checks, marketing the property, etc, and you should get it on the MLS. A reputable property management company will try to screen out less desirable tenants (just as you would), because they don't want the hassle of chasing down late rent or repairing damage often any more than you do. Ideally, they like collecting the monthly rent, taking their cut, and needing to perform no further maintenance on the property.
3. A reputable company will know the market for rentals and recommend a price accordingly. Rent priced too high will leave the property empty between tenants while the company hopes for a large payday. On the opposite extreme, some property management companies don't keep up with the market and price too low. I personally know of an example of a rental that is a good 15% below market due to the laziness of the property management company.
4. A reputable company will respond to tenant calls promptly. This is a hard one to measure, and relies on word of mouth. Owners often don't know if a property manager is poor at this unless they read the signs of higher than normal turnover, lots of medium to large repairs that could have been prevented with regular maintenance, etc. If possible, as to speak to both the tenants and owners of properties currently under management as references.
Good luck with your decision. Being a landlord is not easy or for everyone. But having a poor property management company handling your property can be even more of a nightmare.
Never having rented out a home, I can't speak to the homeowner side of things. But the home that we were recently renting was managed by Professional Property Management (PPM). They were wonderful to work with, at least from our perspective as tenants. They were professional, quick to respond to problems when necessary, and just all-around nice people. When we let them know we were moving out, they seem to have marketed the house effectively, as it was re-rented in just a little over a month.
The realtor with whom we worked when buying our new house has also worked with PPM (not as an employee; as a realtor representing clients), and she also had good things to say about them.
Hope that helps! And good luck with renting out your home.
On a more negative note, I'm currently in a property managed by Weichert and they're 75% of the reason why I can't wait to get out of the place and would never in a million years re-sign my lease. To get anything done (major things that need to be repaired, not me calling because some paint in a corner is chipped or something) requires leaving 35203935 messages and calling to babysit them and make sure they got the message and do their job. I am generally never available to talk to them during regular business hours because *gasp* I have a life and responsibilities. That should not prevent them from listening to their voicemail and calling me back. If you choose to go the property management route, PLEEEEEEAAAAASE do not go with Weichert.
It could be the particular Weichert office you're dealing with. I've had a bad experience with a particular local office of a national realtor company, but I don't think it is far to say all of the offices would be horrible. Another one might have completely competent people in it.
Do you live near your rental property? Can you handle maintenance yourself or the contacting, scheduling, etc of tradesmen like plumbers, electricians? Or would you prefer to pay a management company to do it for you?
I used a real estate company to advertise and show my property when I was looking for a tenant. But after I got a tenant, I've managed everything myself. I've been lucky with my tenant, your experience may vary.
I plan to go this route too when I'm finally finished rehabing my investment property. I bought one near my current house/work in case I needed to come by. I can't imagine it'd be too difficult to manage 1-2 properties on your own, but when I get to 3-4 I'd probably farm it out to a management company.
I'd prefer to save the 10% management fee that a lot of the management companies charge.
We have rented out our condo for 8 years and have done it all by ourselves. The reason we are able to do it is that my husband used to manage two apartment buildings when he was in college. We always price our condo rent a bit below the going rate so that we have a pool of applicants to choose from. We've been fortunate to have only had 3 tenants in all that time. A credit and background check are a must. We are always accessible to our tenants and respond to any maintenance problems immediately. It also helps that being part of a complex, there is a maintenance staff available if an emergency should happen. Keep in mind that if you rent your property, you need to keep track of all income and expenses and account for it properly in your tax returns.
Our property in FL has been managed by a Property Management company for the last 2 years, but IF you are local to the property, then do it yourself and save the $$ over going to a property mgt co.
We've manage our rentals in Alexandria/Kingstowne ourselves for 5+ years. Screening your tenants properly and doing the right credit checks, etc is a must. You have to be available if something does come up (repair, etc), but if your place is kept up, then its easy. We have a trusted set of handymen (electric, plumbing, etc) that we use as well in the event something needs fixing. As a landlord you def have to be organized and realize your responsiblities to the tenant so there are no legal issues that surface.
As a general rule, I would avoid any property managment company that does not do property managment as their core business. If it is a side business, I would stay far from it. My experience with Coldwell Banker was terrible. I was an owner and because CB never returned the tenants calls, they started calling me directly. Not good. Somebody else mentioned Weichert being terrible as well. I have friends who have used other real estate companies that have property managment divisions and to a person they have all had bad experiences.
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