When Property Manager Goes On Vacation...

Question

So, my first question on this site (I've been an observer for quite a while).  I'm a buy and hold real estate investor  and I manage my properties myself I enjoy doing it and have a daytime job that's flexible enough that allows me to do it.  My question is for those of you who manage your properties yourself, what do you do when you go on vacation?  Maybe I'm over thinking this too much in the past I've just hoped that nothing big happens while I'm out of town and so far I've been pretty lucky, but I have a fairly long vacation booked coming up and I would really not want to be worrying about what I would do if an emergency happens at one of my properties while I'm out of town.  I guess the question in general is what do you folks do for a backup plan?  How do you get away without the worry of something happening that you would normally tend to immediately?

Nicole A. · Answer

Yes, definitely, @Jason Bishay . It's great you can typically do repairs/maintenance yourself to save money, but always have another trusted person on your team. You don't want to set up your business so that it ALL depends on you. That makes it a "single point of failure".

Definitely build your team. If you don't already know another good handyman/contractor, start looking for one now while you don't actually need them. Hire them to do some small job so you can see their quality of work. It'd be like an interview of sorts.

Best wishes!

Jason Bishay · Answer

Thank you for all the replies!  I've gotten a good bit of insight on what you all do which is great. I guess the one key thing I didn't mention is that I am also the handyman, contractor, etc. of all my properties, I do all repairs myself (I have many years experience of remodeling houses, taking service calls etc.) which is why I posted the question in the first place.  I think the one key takeaway here is that I need to have at least 1 person handyman, other manager that can help me in the event that I am not available to tend to issues myself.

Elizabeth Colegrove · Answer

Here's what I do, because I go overseas and self manage.

I find a trust friend or family member who I know has good landlording skills. I ask them if they would be my emergency person. I than go over my expectations and leaving them a card to pay. Both times they have been very experienced so they know the game.  I give them a list of all of my tenants information. I let them know I will be out of town and for emergencies they need to call X, if its 24 hours emails.  I than leave a voicemail that says I am unable to be reached do to bad cell reception send me an email. I check my email once every 24 hours. I have 9 properties and travel extensively. This has worked amazingly well!

I do have higher end properties that already have alot of autonomy.

Dawn Brenengen · Answer

@Jason Bishay How often do you typically receive calls?  If it's just every so often, I would just take my phone with me and check messages once or twice a day.  I can't think of a problem that could arise that I couldn't have one of my contractors handle.  Typically, if I get a call, I am just turning around and calling a contractor.  I don't need to be in town to do that.

Nicole A. · Answer

When I go out of town for an extended period of time, I change my voicemail greeting to say that I'm out of town until X date. I probably let my renters know ahead of time that I'll be unavailable to contact for a while.  I confirm with the handyman that I can give renters his number (who don't have it already).

I also make sure well beforehand that all renters know where the water shut-off valve is in the house.

I might check my messages every other day or something if I'm out of country. If you're worrying and wondering, you need to disconnect a little so you can actually enjoy your vacation and unwind!

Andrea M. · Answer

On vacation or  whenever I am out of town, I just check my messages/email (depending on how the tenants contact me)  like 2-3 times a day and contact my handyman to deal with any issues that may arise while I am on vacation. I also contact my tenant when I received the voicemail/text/email and let them know I am currently out of town & I will notify my handyman to look into the problem & a approx. time frame in which the handyman can be there. If it's an urgent situation that needs to be addressed immediately or that I have received their message and will look into it when I get back in town if it's not an urgent situation.

By law, although it may vary from state to state, you have a certain amount of time to fix issues, including major issues like plumbing/heating.

Curt Davis · Answer

@Jason Bishay

You could do a few things.  You could contact a local mgnt company and ask if they can be your tenants point of contact while you are out of town only.  This may or may not work.

You could give them your handyman's direct # as that will be the most common issue.

When Property Manager Goes On Vacation...

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