Managing a property out of town?

Question

I'm thinking about taking a job out of state and renting my house out. I know it would be a lot easier to hand my property over to a property manager but was wondering since this is my only property if it's possible or adivisable to rent out my property while I live in another state?

My main reason is to save on the 10% management fee. I could lower the rent to attract a quality tenant that would still get me more money than had I used a manager. Any thoughts?

Sarnen Steinbarth · Answer

Like the others have mentioned, one problem with being an absentee landlord is showings and moving tenants in and out.

Other aspects like marketing, tenant screening and rent collection can be done pretty effectively remotely.

The properties I own near me I manage.  The ones in another state I hire out to a PM.

Mike Wood · Answer

@Alex Shipp I think there is alot more issues than just showing the place. What about maintenance issues? Collecting the rent?

I self-manage my units that are local to me, but I have one unit that is a few states away, and I have that with a PM. They take care of everything, and since they are a larger PM, they have access to contractors and repair people that you wouldn't.  And I have never received a bill where the cost of repair was any higher than I thought I could get it, and usually its cheaper.

One bonus of a PM, you dont have to worry about anything.  You get a call every once a a while, but generally its just money in the bank.  For remote properties, its definitely the way to go.

Dawn Brenengen · Answer

@Alex Shipp While the day to day management is probably doable, it would be hard to show the property if you are gone.  You can likely hire someone to do the showings and draw up the lease without having them manage the property.

Don't lower the rent, though.  Keep it just below the top price other homes like yours have been renting for.

If you have never rented a property before, you might want to hire someone anyway or at least spend a lot of time educating yourself.  There are a lot of laws governing rental property, and you don't want to find yourself doing something you're not supposed to.