Optimal Next Steps for the Future

[Martin Tee]

Wife and I recently bought a new house and decided to rent out our old house.  I did plenty of research to conclude on renting vs selling at that time, but my question for this is more for the future.

Here's so information.  

Mortgage: 210k @ 3% 
House Value: 450k 
Mortgage Payment: $1015
HOA: $400
Property Taxes: $400-$550 (depends on the 2025 property taxes)
Property Management Company: $140 

All in expenses around ~$2100 
Rent: $2600

From all this, you can see there are both positives and negatives.
 As for my questions...

1) My current tenants are good. I don't expect I will increase rent that much. It's currently just slightly below market rate and I may end up just increasing to reach market rate. My thought process is that I don't want to get rid of good tenants and rather keep them for a fair value rather than try to get every penny out of it.  I think this is a safe approach but do y'all see any concerns with this?

2) HOA will continue to increase every year and that's just part of HOA life. As for Property Taxes - I'm assuming there's not much we can do other than file an appeal? Would appeals work even for rental properties? Are there any special exemptions for rental properties I can take advantage of (City of Atlanta / Fulton County)

3) I went with a property management company as it's my first time. The property management company finds/vets the tenants and provides maintenance services.  Their fees are 50% of the first month rent for finding a tenant and $139 a month for monthly management (this includes 2 months of rental income protection (if tenant doesn't pay rent) and eviction program ($1000 in coverage for evictions). That being said, I'm just not sure if this will be worth it moving forward.  I may end up using them for finding tenants but the monthly plan seems like a waste of money.  Are there firms out there that helps with eviction process? I rather pay out of pocket when it does happen, rather than, pay for it monthly.  

[Bill Hampton]

@Martin Tee, 

I recommend keeping the house, firing the management company, and learning tenant selection and landlording since you are local. 

Join the Georgia Real Estate Investors Association, gareia dot com to learn tenant selection and landlording.

Good luck.