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I had an unexpected job change/relocation (from Syracuse NY to Philadelphia PA) at the end of last year and decided to keep my house and rent it out for the time being. I hired a local property management company to handle everything for me and I've had nothing but problems with them. My current contract with them goes until the end of this year. I have fabulous tenants in the house right now that plan on staying for at least 4+ years. I do have their contact info and plan on reaching out to them later in the year to see how they like the PM company and if it's worth it to keep them on board.
Thoughts on being a long distance LL vs. having a local PM company handle everything?
My concerns with taking everything on myself is that I'm not physically there. I would have to have a maintenance company that I could call 24/7 for any issues (assuming the tenants would call me and then I would take care of it). My current PM company handles collecting rent, paying my mortgage, and they have a maintenance company they use. If I decide to keep a PM company, I will be hiring a new one regardless since the one I currently have is terrible.
I do not wish to sell the house anytime soon, so will keep it as an investment property for the foreseeable future.
Often the "nothing but problems" turns out to be just communication between the two parties or a misunderstand as to what a PMC can and can not do. What issues are you having?
I agree about not using a Propert management company, have your tenants deposit the rent directly into your bank account or using an online service like popMoney, or a rent collection services like erentpayment
Then have a list of plumbers, electricians, handymen, etc... that you can call and trust for a repair. I mean how often do repairs really come up. At least, this the method I use.
The tenants have only been in the house for a few months, but they've been great so far and want to stay for at least 4 years. They haven't needed any repairs whatsoever as of yet. I'm renting right now and have automatic rental payments transferred to my LL through Intuit and it's been working great as well.
I had an unexpected job change/relocation (from Syracuse NY to Philadelphia PA)
at the end of last year and decided to keep my house and rent it out for the time being.
Thoughts on being a long distance LL...
There is no such thing.
With distance the owner becomes a RE investor.
The LL is the person who gets the call at 2AM and follows up when rent is late.
That service can't be done over the phone and -done well- doesn't come cheap.
Quote:
I do not wish to sell the house anytime soon...
Reconsider.
Unless you **know** you're going back to Syracuse within two years
and **know** you'll then want to move back into that house... SELL it.
It's going to be difficult to be a long distance landlord based on the location you listed. Then there is the law. A lot of cities requires license/permit for rental and most will also require a local PM contact if you are not local. Is that required at the location of your rental?
There is no such thing.
With distance the owner becomes a RE investor.
The LL is the person who gets the call at 2AM and follows up when rent is late.
That service can't be done over the phone and -done well- doesn't come cheap.
Reconsider.
Unless you **know** you're going back to Syracuse within two years
and **know** you'll then want to move back into that house... SELL it.
I know there is always the potential to have issues, but I don't know why people are so against keeping a rental property if the situation is working out. I will reconsider selling in a few years and/or if my tenants are leaving. Right now, the setup is great and I don't see any reason to sell the house. The mortgage is paid for, plus a little cushion for any maintenance expenses that may pop up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sj08054
It's going to be difficult to be a long distance landlord based on the location you listed. Then there is the law. A lot of cities requires license/permit for rental and most will also require a local PM contact if you are not local. Is that required at the location of your rental?
Nope, not required to have a local contact. All I need is my rental property certification from the codes department, which I have.
I know there is always the potential to have issues, but I don't know why people are so against keeping a rental property if the situation is working out. I will reconsider selling in a few years and/or if my tenants are leaving. Right now, the setup is great and I don't see any reason to sell the house. The mortgage is paid for, plus a little cushion for any maintenance expenses that may pop up.
Good thinking. On the other hand I'm not sure why some totally knock property managers and it usually turns out that it's based on one bad experience. Good landlords/bad landlords, good tenants/bad tenants - the list is endless whatever the profession or situation but it's the generalizations which irk me no end.
If you continue to feel comfortable with your tenants then, when your contract with the property management company is over, don't renew it. If it doesn't work out in your best interests you can always find another property management company who'll do a better job than the present one. I personally know a couple of dozen people who use property managers who are very happy with their services.
Good thinking. On the other hand I'm not sure why some totally knock property managers and it usually turns out that it's based on one bad experience. Good landlords/bad landlords, good tenants/bad tenants - the list is endless whatever the profession or situation but it's the generalizations which irk me no end.
If you continue to feel comfortable with your tenants then, when your contract with the property management company is over, don't renew it. If it doesn't work out in your best interests you can always find another property management company who'll do a better job than the present one. I personally know a couple of dozen people who use property managers who are very happy with their services.
Yeah I'm not against PMCs altogether - I just know that I do not want to continue my relationship with this one. And it got me to thinking if I could just handle it myself rather than continue paying for a PMC. I'll see how the tenants are over this year - if they are the type of people that need more attention all the time then I think having a PMC is definitely the way to go. But if they're more low-key do their own thing type of people, then I guess I don't really see a need.
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