Out-of-state landlords: Do you use a PM or manage remotely?

Question

Greetings all;

I have an SFH in Milwaukee, WI and am not terribly happy with my current PM - which I may address in a separate post.  L-S-S:  he has been incredibly rude to me and has had work (not-urgent) done w/o my consent - violates our agreement.

For anyone who is an out-of-state or 'remote' landlord:  do you hire a property manager or manage your properties remotely?

Am contemplating firing my current PM and just managing it remotely - with a slew of handymen/contractors already lined up.  My sister lives in the area, and - although not incredibly reliable for day-to-day - is there for 'urgent' situations.

What do you think?  What are your experiences?

Thanks so much!

kelly

Kelly G. · Answer

Wow!!  Can't thank you enough - all of you - for providing such wonderful feedback!!  Yes, my house is on the sw side - near 84th and Oklahoma.  for those who offered - I'll drop you a note in the next day or so - got other things on my plate right now.

I am new at this - and while I tried to find a decent PM - not so sure any more.   So far, the tenants seem to be great - they just moved in   in late March.  Though my sister has chatted w/ them and given good feedback.  (But then . . . OTOH - the bathtub faucet was suddenly "broken and unrepairable" - when I had used it - Daily - just 4 months earlier and my sister had used it during pre-tenant cleaning :  nothing wrong with that faucet . . . suddenly I need a new one??!!  hmmmmmm)

Jenkins:  Not sure I ever thanked you for the info on the local investor group - so here it is:  Thanks!!  I was not in Milw during the meeting dates - maybe next time.

thanks again everyone!  Such a great resource . .

Kelly

Ramon Jenkins · Answer

Kelly G. , “ My sister lives in the area, and - although not incredibly reliable for day-to-day - is there for 'urgent' situations. “
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I believe you have a property on the southside per previous 
conversations.  If you need someone temporary to take photos or just
check on exterior of your property until you reassemble your team / 
new property mgr – just let me know

no charge /  fee -> temporary help
just send private message

“ your expectations peruse other options “ or
" has been incredibly rude to me and has had work (not-urgent) done w/o my consent - violates our agreement " :
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Otherwise I would agree - new management needs to be in-place 
as soon as possible

just my opinion

Michael Seeker · Answer

Is this the only property you have and/or plan to have in that area?   If you've already got contractors and contacts lined up, I would say you should definitely manage remotely and fire the PM you're dealing with now.

I often manage my properties that are within a 5 minute drive "remotely" by having my contractor(s) just contact the tenant to set up a time that is good for both parties.  If you've built a list of good contractors and the tenants are halfway decent, then you shouldn't have any problem with this part of the equation.

My only concern would be re-renting the property when the current tenants move out.  Depending on how difficult it is for you to get back to the area, this may not be that big of an issue either.  Especially if you can pay your sister $25 a showing or something like that whenever there is a vacancy.

-Michael

Mehran K. · Answer

I know everyone is different, but to me personally, I wouldn't manage a property if it was down the street, let alone in another state.

With this in mind, you still need to learn and know how to manage a property so you can manage your PM's properly. I learned this by reading books, asking questions/viewing posts here on BP, and renting out two spare rooms in my primary residence for a year to get the hang of it.

Property management is so important that I don't even look for deals in a target market until I have a PM already interviewed to the core and felt comfortable working with. The  ~10% PM fee is just the cost of doing business for me and I factor it into my deal analyses during my evaluations. I like this because I can focus more time and energy on things that grow my business/portfolio. Essentially working "on" my business rather than "in" my business.

Put together an interview questionnaire and call as many PM's as you can find in your market and you'll instinctively know which one you should work with. Good Luck!

Michael Lauther · Answer

John Chapman I would say that my system is workable and for now it will serve my needs. In the long  run I will need a good property manager because the stress or managing people from a distance will be much less if I am able to manage a property manager. 
 As we discussed a good handy man that is trusted is worth paying top dollar for.   insurance contracts on heating system runs about 120 a year per unit and they will field telephone calls for heat outages and cover most calls under the contract.  The problem with property managers is that in lower income areas the maintenance gets too expensive. the property mgr gets a cut when he hires out the job and in some cases the contractor that gets the repair order subs it out and when the repair is not done right everyone blames everyone else.

I own single family properties and half are section 8 so rent is not an issue for them but I do find myself chasing tenants for rent.

John Chapman · Answer

Michael Lauther, I believe, manages his properties remotely and does well by it.  He's got a pretty good system as I recall.  I'm in-state and manage my own but I intend to move out of state at some point and manage remotely.  I absolutely believe its achievable but takes some time setting up.

Renae Bliss · Answer

If you're looking for a great PM company in Milwaukee, Contact Orange Avenue Realtors; Mr. Malico Watson.

Dan C. · Answer

@Kelly G. I have an opinion on a couple Milwaukee PM's if you consider cancelling with your current one - feel free to send me a message.

My two cents is if I were trying to go without a PM remotely, I would at least want someone local who could be relied upon to check on things for me.  And not just for urgent situations, but for almost anything which the tenant reports on.  Tenants can be such novices at household issues, that often you need to check it out first hand.  But perhaps your sister can serve this role.

Joe G. · Answer

Kelly G., I use PMs since I have properties in three different states.  I always screen my PMs with face to face or telephonic interviews.  
How ‘needy’ is the current tenant?  How much longer do they have on the current lease?  How much do you pay your current PM?  Did you sign a contract with the PM?

Pending the answers, I would discuss your issues with the current PM first.  Relationships are really expectation management.  If their actions still do not conform to your expectations peruse other options.  Good luck and please keep the forum posted with how you proceed.