Biggest headaches for landlords

[Jacob Joss]

Hello everybody,

I've been working in property management and property maintenance for the past 6 years. I wanted to start a property management company but Iowa requires an agent to be licensed under a broker to negotiate 3rd party owner contracts and leases. I've talked to 40 brokerages in the area and nobody seems to want the risk associated with brokering a management company. 

I'm researching a way to pivot and lean more towards property operations until I can get my brokers license. What are the biggest operations headaches you face as a landlord and how much would an owner be able to justify paying to get these tasks off their plates?

I can't meet potential tenants on site but I could handle move out/move in inspections and coordinate all vendors to make a unit ready. I could do hvac prevenative maintenance and send owners a monthly or quarterly report with photos of the property. I could monitor vacant units weekly for squatters/leaks/floods while the owner rents the unit out. I could offer the same service to Real Estate Agents while properties are sitting vacant waiting to be bought.

Just trying to see which of these tasks are worth it for owners to outsource before diving into creating my processes and pricing.

[Jules Aton]

Great to consider roadblocks before becoming too invested in this plan. My biggest headache is dealing with repairs and maintenance. The broker tie is probably the rub in your plan because when they lease for their clients they may be covering the PM portion in house. They can show the property, screen tenants and contract with tradesmen themselves. STR seem to be more heavily reliant on PMs in my experience. Best wishes with your RE journey.