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I think its a hit or miss. The thing I like is that the fix-it guys (in my experience)that are with a property mngmt company seem to be easier to deal with. They are there to do the job maybe some small talk and then they are gone. RBO's always seem to go over the apt with thier eye looking for damage and at all your stuff. It feels invasive to me.
I would think it's a toss up. You can get good or bad with either.
As far as snoping goes, I require my PM to do inspections every three months to make sure the home is being maintained by the renter. I don't use the APM's handy man.
I have a maintenance man who has been with me for years, and I always ask him to keep his eyes open when he is repairing. You don't have to snoop to be able to tell if the home is being cared for or not.
It's just good business to make sure your expensive investment is being taken care of.
Any thoughts on this, or is it really hit or miss?
Property Management Companies or For Rent By Owner - who has the better quality home to rent?
It's hit or miss on the home itself. What you should be more concerned with is the level of service you'll have if problems arise.
If you rent from a bad owner, you have only the court system as leverage and private landlords can be very unpredictable and weird.
If you rent from a professional property management company, most have to be licensed and are also Realtors, which give you Ethics and Professional Standards guidelines to which the manager is accountable. We jeapordize our license if we go out of bounds.
That's not to say there are not outstanding private landlords and terrible professionals, but the professionals end up in court a lot less than the private landlords do, so that tells me something.
I hate property management companies. I have had bad experiences with them on both ends, as a renter and a landlord. My property management company actually allowed my tenants to smoke in the house and sign a 6-mo lease. I never approved of either! It took me several weeks to get the smell of smoke out of my house. Thankfully they were only there 6 months!
Right now I am in the process of moving to a new state. With the market the way it is right now, I am going to rent first before I buy. I have 3 pets, all are extremely well behaved, and older. Property Management Companies don't want to even deal with pets. They also won't rent to me sight unseen. I have to have a rep view the house for me. They also want to tack on rediculous fees. I am going to rent from a private landlord. They are much easier to deal with and tend to take things like pets on a case by case basis. They also usually return your full deposit unless there is a reason to keep it.
I hate property management companies. I have had bad experiences with them on both ends, as a renter and a landlord. My property management company actually allowed my tenants to smoke in the house and sign a 6-mo lease. I never approved of either! It took me several weeks to get the smell of smoke out of my house. Thankfully they were only there 6 months!
Right now I am in the process of moving to a new state. With the market the way it is right now, I am going to rent first before I buy. I have 3 pets, all are extremely well behaved, and older. Property Management Companies don't want to even deal with pets. They also won't rent to me sight unseen. I have to have a rep view the house for me. They also want to tack on rediculous fees. I am going to rent from a private landlord. They are much easier to deal with and tend to take things like pets on a case by case basis. They also usually return your full deposit unless there is a reason to keep it.
Hi Delta,
What you say is your truth, and it's true for you and your experience, but it's not true for everyone. I'm a professional property manager and I don't allow 6 month leases (unless it's November and we need to get the property back into the summer cycle) or smokers. Most of my Austin colleagues don't either.
As far as sight unseen, I have a tenant moving in this weekend from Seattle who has not seen the house. I took about 50 pictures for him and posted them to Google Picasa online. It's risky renting to people sight unseen, and I won't always do it, but this tenant presented himself well and agreed to the stipulations. He has already pre-paid first month's rent and turned on all the utilities.
Finally, there is no shortage of tenants who have been screwed out of their deposit by private landlords. Don't think that avoiding professional property managers will result in a joyful experience. Many private owners are terrible, others are great - just like the professional property managers. Just depends on the individual or company.
What you say is your truth, and it's true for you and your experience, but it's not true for everyone. I'm a professional property manager and I don't allow 6 month leases (unless it's November and we need to get the property back into the summer cycle) or smokers. Most of my Austin colleagues don't either.
As far as sight unseen, I have a tenant moving in this weekend from Seattle who has not seen the house. I took about 50 pictures for him and posted them to Google Picasa online. It's risky renting to people sight unseen, and I won't always do it, but this tenant presented himself well and agreed to the stipulations. He has already pre-paid first month's rent and turned on all the utilities.
Finally, there is no shortage of tenants who have been screwed out of their deposit by private landlords. Don't think that avoiding professional property managers will result in a joyful experience. Many private owners are terrible, others are great - just like the professional property managers. Just depends on the individual or company.
Good luck in your new place.
Steve
You are right Steve. I'm just bitter at the moment because I feel we are excellent renters and none of the property management places where we are moving want to give us a chance. It's very frustrating!
Right now I am trying to work with a private landlord, but I don't think it's going to worth either. He actually wants us to build a fence for free in exchange for renting from him! He is telling me that he would provide all the materials if I provide the labor. I'm thinking this is a bad deal. Any input, anyone?
In me experience one can be unlucky with both, but if a home owner sucks he'll be worse than the property management. I prefer to not deal with home owners directly.
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