Single Family Home - Property Manager or Self Manage?

Question

Hello,

We are in the middle of closing on a house, and the loan officer stated we needed to submit an executed lease prior to closing (move in date can be later) or we will lose the loan. We have about 2 weeks, and a possible tenant lined up. We have a rental property in Texas and one in Kentucky, but those are both through property managers that have been awesome.

We want to try managing this property ourselves since we plan on retiring in Colorado Springs. The issue is I have a deployment coming up that will take me away for about 9 months. I have very little time to get this executed so we can close on our new home. Any information on the pros and cons, and where I can get a Colorado specific lease agreement would be helpful if we do plan on going the self managed route. If you are local to Colorado Springs any referrals for property manager's that can fill this ASAP.

Thanks, look forward to the responses!

Rene G. · Answer

Anthony,

Real quick, everyone will be giving you biased advice.

Property managers say property management is hard. They also want your business.

Do-if-yourself landlords will say managing your own rentals is easy. They also want you to agree with them.

Then you have all the other people that have an opinion. Some have something to say no matter what the question is.

You always have to sort through all the noise. Everyone has their own style and strategy.

Don’t listen to me, but here’s my 2-cents. I say do your own tests. If you’re planning to start your own RE Business, what better way to get some good experience than doing your own property management your last few years before military retirement? I’ve managed my rentals for over ten years, often deployed to the Middle East. You have to stick to one strategy and not get distracted by all the shiny advice and things you could do. If you are in the military, you know the importance of strategy over tactics.

Remember this:

Experts talk about principles.

Amateurs love to talk about tactics.

Novices love to talk about other people’s techniques.

At the end of the day, everyone is trying to do their best based on many different factors. Ultimately, everything depends on you… you have to decide what’s right and wrong for you.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE BROTHER!

Joe Martella · Answer

This is from an earlier post I made. I hope this helps. I have used TurboTenant successfully 4 times now.

I currently manage 4 SFH rentals in addition to having a very demanding full time job. There are many free resources out there for smaller investors. I am going to list them:

• TurboTenantIt is completely free to advertise your rental, screen your tenants.You upload your pictures, write a description and it posts to 20+ websites for freeTakes about 24-48 hours for leads to come in.Once you select a tenant, they pay for the background check, upload documents (paystubs, ID, W2) and it is all set to you.It even helps you build a lease after you select a tenant (there is a $30+ fee for the lease)My referral code .disclosure. I do not get any money from TurboTenant, nor am I an owner or investor in the company.They have a referral program where they will send me a $25 home depot gift card for a referral - you don't have to use the referral code
• It is completely free to advertise your rental, screen your tenants.
• You upload your pictures, write a description and it posts to 20+ websites for free
• Takes about 24-48 hours for leads to come in.
• Once you select a tenant, they pay for the background check, upload documents (paystubs, ID, W2) and it is all set to you.
• It even helps you build a lease after you select a tenant (there is a $30+ fee for the lease)
• My referral code .disclosure. I do not get any money from TurboTenant, nor am I an owner or investor in the company.
• They have a referral program where they will send me a $25 home depot gift card for a referral - you don't have to use the referral code

• It is completely free to advertise your rental, screen your tenants.
• You upload your pictures, write a description and it posts to 20+ websites for free
• Takes about 24-48 hours for leads to come in.
• Once you select a tenant, they pay for the background check, upload documents (paystubs, ID, W2) and it is all set to you.
• It even helps you build a lease after you select a tenant (there is a $30+ fee for the lease)
• My referral code .disclosure. I do not get any money from TurboTenant, nor am I an owner or investor in the company.
• They have a referral program where they will send me a $25 home depot gift card for a referral - you don't have to use the referral code

• StessaStessa is a website that I use to track all my expenses.It is another free site and you can pull reportsYou even can upload receipts.Roofstock recently purchased StessaCompletely free
• Stessa is a website that I use to track all my expenses.
• It is another free site and you can pull reports
• You even can upload receipts.
• Roofstock recently purchased Stessa
• Completely free

• Stessa is a website that I use to track all my expenses.
• It is another free site and you can pull reports
• You even can upload receipts.
• Roofstock recently purchased Stessa
• Completely free

• Zillow Rental ManagerI use this to collect rent.Free for the landlordTenant only pays a fee if they use a credit card to pay rent. ACH is freeTakes about 5-7 days for the funds to hit your bank account
• I use this to collect rent.
• Free for the landlord
• Tenant only pays a fee if they use a credit card to pay rent. ACH is free
• Takes about 5-7 days for the funds to hit your bank account
• ExcelI use an excel spreadsheet to track my check register. You can download a free template online
• I use an excel spreadsheet to track my check register. You can download a free template online

• I use this to collect rent.
• Free for the landlord
• Tenant only pays a fee if they use a credit card to pay rent. ACH is free
• Takes about 5-7 days for the funds to hit your bank account

• I use an excel spreadsheet to track my check register. You can download a free template online

Other free websites I haven't used.

• Avail.co
• This is another free website that I learned about this week listening to a podcast (may have been a BP podcast). I haven't used it and cannot speak to it.
• This is another free website that I learned about this week listening to a podcast (may have been a BP podcast). I haven't used it and cannot speak to it.

• This is another free website that I learned about this week listening to a podcast (may have been a BP podcast). I haven't used it and cannot speak to it.

• Zibo.comThis is another free website where you can collect rent electronically and have an interest checking account.I am still looking at this, because not all my tenants pay electronically. 2 like to mail checks. I haven't looked at how to deposit those - I don't like mobile deposits.
• This is another free website where you can collect rent electronically and have an interest checking account.
• I am still looking at this, because not all my tenants pay electronically. 2 like to mail checks. I haven't looked at how to deposit those - I don't like mobile deposits.

• This is another free website where you can collect rent electronically and have an interest checking account.
• I am still looking at this, because not all my tenants pay electronically. 2 like to mail checks. I haven't looked at how to deposit those - I don't like mobile deposits.

There are many free resources to use before you start paying for services. Out of my 4 rentals, I have placed 2 tenants with TurboTenant - one tenant is on year 3 and the other tenant is on year 2. I listed the properties, took some pictures (they weren't the greatest pictures) and had it rented in a week. I was able to recycle the leases upon renewal and didn't pay any commissions for the rental, which is a savings of over $4,000 if you consider the rental commission to be 1 month rent. I highly recommend it.

Here are some threads you may want to take a read of:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Drew Sygit · Answer

@Anthony Hidalgo we're a bit biased as we're a PMC, but all of the below is still valid:

Owners always complain about how much a PMC costs them.

How much are you paying for car insurance? Isn't that also a BIG waste of money?

What about health & home insurance? STOP paying those too because aren't they a waste of money?

Landlords are so short-sighted when it comes to hiring property management companies and always mention some variation of, "but 8% seems a lot..." nearsightedness.

How much do you really know about the following:
1) Fair Housing laws
2) Fair Credit Reporting Act
3) Consumer Privacy Protection laws
4) Local rental ordinances
5) State eviction laws and procedures
6) Etc...

Everyone thinks property management is easy until something goes wrong...

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Part-time effort results in part-time success. If you want to build a company, learn all you can and then hit the ground running hard. I have a friend that worked for me for five years before getting married and moving to another state. She started her own PM company and was up to 150 units in a year, without any advertising. If you know what you're doing and you're good at it, growth will come quickly and you'll be earning a decent living in under two years. If you really put the effort in, you'll be earning a six-figure income in less than five years and loving life.

Anthony Hidalgo · Answer

Greg,

Definitely would like to get some information from you. Right now I do facilities and construction management for the Army. While I wouldn't need to make a too much to supplement my retirement income, I definitely like the process of REI, and would like to explore some additional avenues like getting my RE license or possibly look at doing financing.

Anthony Hidalgo · Answer

@Rene G.

Thanks for the advice there is definitely biased opinions based on experiences. I've had my fair share of Property managers that have been great, and those that have been bad. I'll have a lot of time to study for my real estate exam during this upcoming deployment. I will also have opportunity to think what I would like to accomplish. I'd like to go deep into one category of real estate before branching out. We are looking more into the SFH and small (quad-plex) investments. We are debating if we should try to trade up with our KY and TX properties. Both are SFHs and we would look at getting Quad plexes.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

i'm only invested locally. Every time I save up money to invest in another market, another local deal pops up and I keep my dollars here. It's easier, since I own a management company to handle them for me.

Our market was really hot this year, so I tried investing in five different markets back east. All of them were over-priced and highly competitive, so I gave up. I'll stick to renovating some existing properties until the market returns to reality. I don't think it will take long, maybe a year.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Biggerpockets sells a Lease Agreement Package under "TOOLS" at the top of your screen. $100 for a lease and several other documents, written by investors and attorney approved for your state. It's better than what you'll get from most attorneys and what you'll find on the internet.

Wale Lawal · Answer

@Anthony Hidalgo

Owning residential real estate requires more than property selection and negotiating a favorable price. Property management, often overlooked in the enthusiasm for the purchase, can make or break the financial results of ownership. Don’t make the same mistake.

Many first-time real estate investors personally manage the newly acquired property. Many subsequently decide to use a professional manager because (1) they lack the time or interest to do an acceptable job or (2) accumulate enough properties that professional management is the only solution. Management decisions are never carved in stone. Changing your mind about management is always possible.

All the best!

Matt Ziegler · Answer

You can get state specific leases from several sources, legalwhiz.com is one option, you can get them here on BP. Look under tools…

The rental market locally is strong. If you are priced right you should have no issue getting it rented. While we are not property managers, we do have lots of contacts here in town. Feel free to reach out if we can help.

Cheers

Single Family Home - Property Manager or Self Manage?

Single Family Home - Property Manager or Self Manage?

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