Investor · Los Alamitos, CA · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 0 votes
Hello Party People,
I'll try to keep this short and to the point. I own 8 buildings in the Phoenix Metro area of Arizona. (7 4plexes and a SFR to be exact) I'm looking to talk to other established real estate investors that have, or are currently successfully remotely managing their properties. I live in California and I will be remotely managing all of my properties. I would love to hear your systems in place, how many units you're running, years of experience, organizational structure, types of positions you outsourced etc.... Look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your time!
Rental Property Investor · Phoenix Tempe Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2014 · 184 posts · 55 votes
9y
I use to manage properties from San Diego to Flagstaff for a short time.
I then moved to Flagstaff and then to Tempe
Now I manage the Flagstaff properties remotely and Tempe and Phoenix properties more actively.
I would highly suggest upgrading water heaters, water lines, really making sure the electrical is bullet proof, knowing your HVAC units, and knowing your plumbing system.
These are the high ticket items that will fail Christmas morning at 2 am on a Sunday and you will have no choice but to pay top dollar for emergency repair. They are also the items a property manager will gladly disperse a Professional to fix for top dollar on your dime.
HVAC in Phoenix is a necessity in summer regular maintenance is important and changing or checking the filters.
I have always self-managed, so I cannot recommend any companies for property management.
I would highly suggest managing a property locally before trying to do it remotely. I network with large property owners here at the buy and hold azreia group and from the few that really know what they are doing the best piece of advice is not to sign a long term 12-month agreement with a new management company, they will ALL try to make it seem like you have to. You do not have to.
To leverage my time between the two cities I use:
Erentpayment.com - for automatic rent payments
Showmojo - For remote showings, advertising, and new contact management. You need to have access to your smart phone and check your property regularly. We have nice properties in nice neighborhoods, might be risky for a C property.
TransUnion smart move - Credit, background, and criminal check for new tenants
San Jose, CA · Member since 2017 · 19 posts · 7 votes
9y
I have 2 properties in orlando FL and 1 in sacramento CA. i live in san jose california. I do most of managing myself online and over phone. When someone needs to show up at the property, i request my agent to help out. it gets very hectic sometimes, especially during finding tenants. Planning to keep doing it until i can or till cash-on-cash gets better and i can afford a management company.
Real Estate Professional · Memphis, TN · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
From what I hear, when everything is going good and your tenant is a normal human being who is rational, self mgmt is the way to go. But, the second you get some goof ball in your house it when it gets beyond stressful. I would say 50-50 for my 500 + properties. In that 50% of them have some sort of personality disorder and possess communication skills on a 2nd grade level. Really, a PM's role is to manage your property, but there is a lot and I mean a ton of people management. Just yesterday, I had to tell a tenant during a lease signing to flush the toilet in our office. I thought to myself, I went to college and received a Bachelors Degree to tell someone to flush the toilet--what happened? LOL. I say that joking as I love what I do, but seriously, what kind of person ask to use an office toilet, then walks out of their without flushing. Those are the people you have a 50% chance of dealing with. :)
If you can do it, then go for it if you have the time.
@Douglas Skipworth has a great video of why not to self manage. Of course, both Douglas and I are Property Managers are have a bias point of view, but really, his video list many things (not all) that could go wrong and why you want a manager. Personally, I would look for the best manager with the best rates.
Investor · Los Alamitos, CA · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 0 votes
9y
@Alex Craig Thank you for taking the time to post and sharing your thoughts. No disrespect, but I should have been clear with my intentions with this specific post. I'm not asking for advice on if I should manage my property remotely or not, or the positives and negatives of remote property management. I'm 100% going to be doing it. My post is specifically reaching out to people that are currently remotely managing their properties and wanting to see if they would be willing to share information on how to do it successfully.
Realtor · NY · Member since 2016 · 55 posts · 23 votes
9y
@Manjunath Shetty Hi, I do own multiple properties in orlando and I'm self managing it with other properties that I don't own, and thats my full time job, if you want I can help you with yours . I'm sure you are loosing money every time there is a repair because other than you no one will cares about the cost of the repair, and the time of turnover- when the property is vacant and you need a good tenant in quick time ...
Rental Property Investor · Phoenix Tempe Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2014 · 184 posts · 55 votes
9y
I use to manage properties from San Diego to Flagstaff for a short time.
I then moved to Flagstaff and then to Tempe
Now I manage the Flagstaff properties remotely and Tempe and Phoenix properties more actively.
I would highly suggest upgrading water heaters, water lines, really making sure the electrical is bullet proof, knowing your HVAC units, and knowing your plumbing system.
These are the high ticket items that will fail Christmas morning at 2 am on a Sunday and you will have no choice but to pay top dollar for emergency repair. They are also the items a property manager will gladly disperse a Professional to fix for top dollar on your dime.
HVAC in Phoenix is a necessity in summer regular maintenance is important and changing or checking the filters.
I have always self-managed, so I cannot recommend any companies for property management.
I would highly suggest managing a property locally before trying to do it remotely. I network with large property owners here at the buy and hold azreia group and from the few that really know what they are doing the best piece of advice is not to sign a long term 12-month agreement with a new management company, they will ALL try to make it seem like you have to. You do not have to.
To leverage my time between the two cities I use:
Erentpayment.com - for automatic rent payments
Showmojo - For remote showings, advertising, and new contact management. You need to have access to your smart phone and check your property regularly. We have nice properties in nice neighborhoods, might be risky for a C property.
TransUnion smart move - Credit, background, and criminal check for new tenants
A number of my clients are out of state and have property management. The thing that works well for them is that when they have work done or need a third party check on the place they just ask me to go. They usually pay a little bit of money to compensate me for my time, but having a third party check up on the place does wonders in keeping everyone honest. I then take pictures of any work, give my opinion, and just give a general status update of the property. I also drive by clients properties whenever possible and let them know if the place still looks okay.
If not using a PM I would still focus on finding someone locally that could act as that third party.
Real Estate Agent · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2012 · 640 posts · 457 votes
9y
You will be remotely managing 29 units? Sounds like a lot of work, but maybe doable with the right systems. The biggest hurdle and time sink would be property showings/access in my opinion. How do you grant prospective tenants access to view the apartments? @Garrick Oconnell mentioned ShowMojo, which I've also heard other property managers use. However, the plans get expensive quickly and would still be difficult to manage keyboxes and keys, especially if you change keys when apartments turnover. If you use a third party locally who meets tenants, shows them properties, does paperwork, or receives money, that person would most likely have to be a licensed agent.
San Jose, CA · Member since 2017 · 15 posts · 5 votes
9y
Has anyone tried keeping on top of a remote property in part by using cameras?
My initial thought is being able to "inspect" damage or a repair by having someone video it and send you the video, or you could watch live and ask questions.
Second thought is having typical security cameras in common areas and being able to remotely review footage when someone has a complaint, at least to get a sense of what's going on.
Seems like with modern technologies there should be some clever approaches that make remote management easier...
Speaking of which, @Ryan Swan, there are electronic locks you can put on a door such that you can give a person a one-time code, and you get a record of exactly when they entered and left. A colleague of mine used this to manage a rehab on his own home, which in addition to granting conditional access, also allowed him to know if a contractor actually showed up as scheduled.
Real Estate Agent · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2012 · 640 posts · 457 votes
9y
@Ronald Hayden yeah I've used those, but he'll have 29 or more of them. They all have to be programmed in person, and then re-programmed at move outs. Some can be set remotely, but those require WiFi connection (which landlord likely won't have at each unit)
Rental Property Investor · Phoenix Tempe Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2014 · 184 posts · 55 votes
9y
@Ronald Hayden If you can dream it there is some kind of tech or software that will help you manage your property remotely. I will tell you that when cashflow is king these devices and software's add up BIG time. All of the services seem inexpensive at $50 here and $100 here adds up to lowering your cash flow. Short of having sensors, high speed wifi, and video surveillance that would invade your tenants privacy nothing replaces the human touch.
I use my tenants I stay in contact often ask them if everything is going well the weather is good and of they mention this little thing is not working or broke I request text message photos. Then I am stearn and fair with my reactions I fix what is broke and NOT everything they see fit like new light fixtures or installing a pellet stove in place of my wood stove.
Unless it is a leak I have now had two separate tenants tell me they had a little leak only to arrive and find flowing water in my property. Replaced a garage ceiling, and the major one 2 bathroom floors and one ceiling.
San Jose, CA · Member since 2017 · 15 posts · 5 votes
9y
@Ryan Swan and @Garrick Oconnell -- good point about the electronic lock solutions not being very scalable. Probably more of a solution while rehabbing a SFH or small set of units.
Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
I owned several properties in Phoenix for 5 years, and had a decade of investment experience in CA before then. My news for you is not good news, at least in my experience. I fired 7 property managers in 5 years trying to find one that was competent, honest, and not so outrageously priced with all the extra add on fees that they left a bit of profit for me, and couldn't find one. I finally gave up and sold last year ... that was a very happy day for me.
I would say you have to find a great property manager (which is beyond needle in a haystack) or try to have systems to self manage but will still need a great RE agent and contractors (yet another needle in a haystack). Also, you don't want to mess around with class C or worse stuff out of state, even if you can self manage it local. Most of the 4-plexes I know of in Phoenix are in C class neighborhoods or worse, so I'm betting that is a contributing factor that may be setting you up for failure right out of the gate. Definitely spend the extra money to get yourself into solid class B neighborhoods if you are going to attempt investing out of state ... there are so many other additional risks that you can't control that you don't need to amplify it with lower quality tenant base of rougher neighborhoods, and that is one of the few things you actually can control out of state based on the neighborhood you buy in. Good luck!
Rental Property Investor · Concord, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
I have a lot of respect for you guys that invest out of state. I limit my investments to SFRs within a 20 minute drive, self manage and still feel challenged. I can't imagine coming out ahead on what I deal with if I were in another state.