New to RE Rental - how should I start educating myself

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New to RE Rental - how should I start educating myself

Cheryl S.Pro Member
Accountant · New Hanover, NJ · Member since 2020 · 35 posts · 11 votes

We are moving out of state and decided to rent out our current home near Seattle, Washington instead of selling it. My 90-days goal is to educate myself on some basic residential rental including to compare the pros and cons of using a property management vs. DIY and to rent out the home in earnest. Any advices as to where I should get started.

Since we are moving to East Coast and I am a newbie, I think I am more inclined to find a full service property management agent to help out in the first couple of years before I build out my own team. Any suggestions?

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Michael HaasBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Redmond, 🌧️ Seattle Investor-Agent | 🤑 Helped 400+ Clients Invest in Real Estate | 🏘️ Owns 23 WA Rentals & Airbnbs | 🏗️ Built 5 DADU's | 📈 You Can Do It Too · Member since 2016 · 724 posts · 3k+ votes
5y

In house maintenance or good handyperson connections are key with how tight our labor market is here. We self manage and I encourage lots of folks to do the same, but since you don't have those connections and are moving waaaayyyy across the country I would go with property management. Message me if you'd like some recommendations, cheers!

[email protected]408-439-7873
HouseHack Seattle | Michael Haas & Team572 Reviews
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  • Seemant Nakra
    Property Manager · Seattle, WA · Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    You can initiate your learning curve from RHAWA. If the property is in Seattle I would like highly recommend hiring a property manager. If it is outside of Seattle city you would be able to self-manage if you have a list of good maintenance people. 

    0Reply
  • Cheryl S.Pro Member
    OP
    Accountant · New Hanover, NJ · Member since 2020 · 35 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    Thanks Seemant. Our home is located in suburban of Seattle, to be exactly it is in Bothell. I don't have a list of good maintenance people yet and still trying to build out our team if possibly. Any good property manager(s) you would recommend? 

    0Reply
  • Aubrey Maldonado
    Real Estate Agent · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2019 · 79 posts · 77 votes
    5y

    @Cheryl S. have you read The Book on Managing Rental Properties by Brandon and Heather Turner? It's a great book for educating yourself on rental property management. 

    2Reply
  • Cheryl S.Pro Member
    OP
    Accountant · New Hanover, NJ · Member since 2020 · 35 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    Yes Aubrey, I did! I borrowed the book from our local library and read it. I love the book and decide to buy it :) 

    1Reply
  • Seemant Nakra
    Property Manager · Seattle, WA · Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    Reach out to Next Brick they are in Bellevue and have in house maintenance team. 

    0Reply
  • Michael HaasBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Redmond, 🌧️ Seattle Investor-Agent | 🤑 Helped 400+ Clients Invest in Real Estate | 🏘️ Owns 23 WA Rentals & Airbnbs | 🏗️ Built 5 DADU's | 📈 You Can Do It Too · Member since 2016 · 724 posts · 3k+ votes
    5y

    In house maintenance or good handyperson connections are key with how tight our labor market is here. We self manage and I encourage lots of folks to do the same, but since you don't have those connections and are moving waaaayyyy across the country I would go with property management. Message me if you'd like some recommendations, cheers!

    [email protected]408-439-7873
    HouseHack Seattle | Michael Haas & Team572 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    6Reply
  • Daniela Andreevska
    Real Estate Consultant · Member since 2020 · 44 posts · 71 votes
    5y

    Hi, @Cheryl S.!

    Welcome to the exciting - and profitable - world of real estate investing. While I am not an investor myself (yet), I work with a lot residential real estate investors through my job (I work at Mashvisor, a real estate data analytics company), and it's so exciting to see how much profit even beginners make can make in real estate. The easy entry for beginners is one of the features which makes real estate such a great investment strategy!

    There are so many great - and totally free - resources out there to learn about real estate. Here are what I think are the best to start with:

    1. I would definitely start by reading real estate blogs. The BiggerPockets blog is a great place to start with. There are so many articles that aim to help specifically beginners like you get started. Other really helpful blogs for beginners include RETipster, Spark Rental, Coach Carson, Fortune Builders, Realty Times, and Mashvisor. One of my favorite things about reading real estate investing blogs is that you get to hear a lot of various points of view, experiences, and opinions, so you can make really educated investment and landlording decisions based on the expertise of other investors as well as real estate professionals.
    2. I would also listen to real estate podcasts. Just as with blogs, you can find podcast episodes on just about any topics of interest to you including how to get started with rental properties, whether to use a property management company, what different companies offer, etc.
    3. I think you've already made a great start by joining this forum. It's always great to hear from other investors themselves and to be able to ask the exact questions that interest you. The lively communication and the back-and-forth is an important advantage of real estate forums over blogs and podcasts.

    The key is to try a few different sources of real estate education as each comes with its pros and cons, so this will give you a really comprehensive overview of what you can expect as a first-time investor.

    To put my two cents, yes, absolutely, you should get a full-service property management company or agent in your case. Since you are a first-time investor and don't have a network yet, and since you are moving to a different state, it will be really hard to get started without a professional property manager. Otherwise, you risk high vacancies as well as being unable to address any issues with tenants in a timely manner, and that's one certain way for beginners to fail.

    You should not worry about the cost of a property manager as the price is totally worth it. This is the best way to optimize occupancy and to minimize rental expenses, which will push your return up. Also, with the ever-increasing number of property managers, prices have become very competitive. I would advise to look for a company or a manager who charges a percentage of the rent rather than a fixed fee. In this way your manager will have an incentive to maximize your income.

    2Reply
  • Jaquetta T Ragland
    Real Estate Agent · Winston Salem, NC · Member since 2014 · 486 posts · 303 votes
    5y

    @Cheryl S Shi I would suggest joining the local REIA In the area you move to...that's a good start

    0Reply
  • Sherief Elbassuoni
    Realtor · Bellevue, WA · Member since 2019 · 882 posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    @Cheryl S., we typically recommend people to self manage at least one or two properties before hiring a property manager.

    That said, since you have no connection to handy people to handle the repairs, and you are moving way away from your rental, I think hiring a property manager will suit you better.

    Best of luck!

    0Reply
  • Cheryl S.Pro Member
    OP
    Accountant · New Hanover, NJ · Member since 2020 · 35 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    @Michael Haas Thanks. I actually start searching the local maintenance people/handyman using yellow page or Craigslist and hoping that I can find someone there if we need maintenance. Our home is new construction built in 2019, so hopefully we don't have too many maintenance request in the first couple of years (keep fingers crossed). Any recommendations in building out a good maintenance team? 

    0Reply
  • Cheryl S.Pro Member
    OP
    Accountant · New Hanover, NJ · Member since 2020 · 35 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    @Sherief Elbassuoni Thanks for the advice. Would you answer be different if my home is new construction built in 2019, which would mean less maintenance in the first few years (I hope) :) and although the family is moving away but we do have other family member and friends that could possibly help with some sort of communications? I've had numerous discussions with my husband and other family members and we feel that we could try to work with a listing agent to rent out the property first. Then we will try to manage it out of state with helps of family member and friends in Seattle to see how things work out. If things do not work out, we can always switch to a full service property management. Any thoughts there? Thanks for your input. 

    0Reply
  • Cheryl S.Pro Member
    OP
    Accountant · New Hanover, NJ · Member since 2020 · 35 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    @Jaquetta T Ragland Thanks. We are moving to NJ and I will try to find the local REIA there and join them. :)

    0Reply
  • Cheryl S.Pro Member
    OP
    Accountant · New Hanover, NJ · Member since 2020 · 35 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    @Daniela Andreevska Thanks for your input. Really appreciate your time helping me here. This is what I've been doing this week! Reading blogs and listening podcast here on BiggerPockets. I do find it can be very overwhelming that since I am new there are just a lot to read and listen :) Try to get through one or two during my lunch and after work. I think it would take me awhile to go through most of these blogs and podcast from various sources. I think a reason I hesitate working with a full service property management is also because our home is new construction built in 2019. I feel there could be less maintenance needed in the next few years. there's other reasons. I will PM you later with more details and maybe can get some advice from you :) 

    0Reply
  • Sherief Elbassuoni
    Realtor · Bellevue, WA · Member since 2019 · 882 posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    @Cheryl S., this might be a good approach for a 2019 house. Try first to manage it while you are out of state while getting some help from family/frend members who are local here to the Seattle area. If this did not work out, go with a full time Property management. 

    Just be cautious that if things went south while you are out of state, you will have un-happy tenants. Some un-happy tenants may not pay rent while we still have the moratorium :(

    I hope this will never be your case, but just something to keep in mind. Long-lasting happy tenants is what is feeding the machine and allow us to get +ve cash flow. High turnover can also easily impact your cash flow.

    Just different things to keep in mind while you are taking the decision.

    Wish you the best!

    1Reply
  • Daniela Andreevska
    Real Estate Consultant · Member since 2020 · 44 posts · 71 votes
    5y

    @Cheryl S., I fully understand. With the amount of real estate info out there, it can get overwhelming quite quickly. The trick is to focus on the kind of information that you are really interested in at the moment - in your case the pros and cons of professional property management and how to choose the best property manager.

    Since your home is a new construction, it is definitely expected to require minimal maintenance. But you should keep in mind that it's really important for a new landlord to get good tenants and make a good first impression to get started on the right foot in real estate investing. As a beginner, you don't want to risk problems with your first tenants, especially since you will be out of state and unable to be physically present at your property if any need arises.

    Also, as you are moving, trying to get your first rental property at the same time might get stressful. Having a property manager would definitely take off some of this stress.

    Looking forward to hearing more from you.

    0Reply
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