How to Manage Out of State or Long Distance Short-Term Rentals?

Question

I am looking to manage my first short term rental in Tobyhanna, PA or the surrounding areas. This location is about an hour and a half from my primary residence. What is the best way to manage this property without having to constantly be there? I will be managing the property for a landlord in the general Poconos area. Many people know this as rental arbitrage. Would you hire a dedicated property manager or would it be smarter to pay the short term rental cleaners extra to do any small extra tasks needed? Any help is appreciated! Thank you!

Michael Baum · Answer

Hey @Lucas Bubb it is hard to see how you would actually make money using a PM. I am of course assuming you are paying a bit over market lease rates to do arbitrage.

Essentially it is the same as all of us do remotely. Get a great cleaner and handy person. The cleaner will be you eyes and ears on the ground and the handy person will do what they do.

Keep up on the maintenance of the systems and you should be good to go.

Mike Shemp · Answer

@Lucas Bubb

Try to find any Facebook groups for owners of short term rentals in the Poconos area.  Join the group and see who people recommend for your cleaner and handyman.  While you are there, try and also get contacts for an appliance person, electrician, plumber, and HVAC person.

One thing to consider with the cleaning person is to utilize 2 cleaning people.  For example maybe give 90% of your bookings to one cleaner, and 10% of your bookings to another so that you establish a relationship with a 2nd cleaner in case there are any unforseen issues with your main cleaner.  You can also do this with your handman as well.

Being remote you'll want to establish those relationships so that when you contact someone, they don't get back to you 3 days later.

Hope that helps.

Mike

Lucas Bubb · Answer

@Adam David Graning

I will absolutely take this into consideration! Thanks!

Adam David Graning · Answer

@Lucas Bubb you can do it all yourself. Interview a bunch of cleaners in that area that use the turnover bnb app. Find one that’s been doing it for a while, who has a trusted handyman on their team. Good cleaners can do a lot of the big stuff for ya.

Lucas Bubb · Answer

@Chad McMahan

Perfect! Thanks again! 😁

Chad McMahan · Answer

Either you can pay a non refundable retainer to a realtor, or most realtors are happy to provide info and assistance, as long as they will be your local go-to agent to purchase/sell moving forward.

Lucas Bubb · Answer

@Michael Baum

Thanks again for all of your help! I greatly appreciate it!

Lucas Bubb · Answer

@Chad McMahan

Thank you for all of the valuable info!

How does the realtor get paid if I’m only looking for properties currently for rent and then proceeding with rental arbitrage?

Michael Baum · Answer

Hey @Lucas Bubb, I am not a good guy on that question. I am someone who will fly/drive to the area I am interested and spend time looking around and checking out stuff.

What @Chad McMahan said can be applied to checking out properties remotely. Find an agent in the area where you are looking that is familiar with STR's and start there. Then get the inspection person that way as well.

Frankly, you can't beat your own eyes if at all possible.

Chad McMahan · Answer

Hi Lucas.

If you plan to manage STR's out of area, if possible, lean on a local realtor to get you a list of reliable laborers. If you purchased without a realtor, make a ton of calls and make a list of companies per need you can call to take care of business.

Most ongoing issues can be solved by reasonably priced handymen and cleaners, so these are the most important to build relationships with. I wouldn't pay cleaners to do other tasks, unless it has to do with cleaning/linens/restocking/laundry.

How to Manage Out of State or Long Distance Short-Term Rentals?

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