Property Manager/Home Warranty

[Derek Persuit]

I'm going through a situation where I will have to hire a Property Manager as I will be long-distance landlording. My home warranty is up for renewal and I am weighing the options.

Is it overkill to have both a Property Manager with an in-house maintenance department and a home warranty?

Do I need both for sure?

I have vetted several managers and am going with one that just takes a flat percentage of the rent, charges for maintenance repairs either from within or picks up a vendor, and there are no upcharges or service fees.

The warranty is a standard one and will cost me less than $100 per month on a fourplex and about $95 per call out and repair.

Just seeing if anyone has had a similar situation. What did you do? Do you think I will never have to use the warranty if I have the management company?

Thanks In Advance,

Derek

[Nathan Gesner]

Many professional managers will not manage a home with a home warranty. There are too many delays, home warranty companies hire the least expensive - and often least qualified - to do the work.

Home warranties are a gamble. They don't cover as much as people think and they obviously don't pay for themselves or else the home warranty companies would go out of business. They make a ton of money because they rarely pay out either because a lack of claims, a lack of qualified claims, or straight-up denial of claims.