Property Management Advice

Houston, Texas
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Property Management Advice

David Pittman
Member since 2022 · 11 posts · 4 votes

Good afternoon BP!

Me and my wife are looking at leaving the country for a year and then possibly moving out of the country permanently. We have a custom SFH that I built in 2021 (I am a custom home builder).So I have all the contractors I need to maintain the property. We built the house to live in and then sell, but our plans have changed. So it was not built to be a rental house per say. These are a few questions I have:

1.) Will a property manager work with the contractors I used to build the house? I'm not worried about the cleaners or the law guys, I'm thinking about the big ticket items (mechanicals, roof). We still use all the same mechanical contractors and would like to use the vendors I know.

2.) Is it worth getting a PM for just one house? Placement is my biggest concern with doing it myself and the fact that we will be in different time zones is the other. I would be concerned that there would be an issue that I couldn't address, like the AC going out in August/September. 

3.) IF anybody had any recommendations for a PM that is in the Galveston county area, we would love to hear them. The reviews for PM's that I have found so far are pretty bad and we've all heard the horror stories of bad PM.

We want to keep the house because we have family close (as they age we would be very close) and if something happens to us oversees we will at least have a house in the states to come to. The plan would be to rent the house for at least the first 2 years, then make a decision about keeping the house or not.

Thank you guys for any help!

1Reply
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Drew SygitBusiness Member
Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
1y

@David Pittman a PMC's challenges in using an owner specific contractor:

1) Licensed & insured?

2) Willing to sign a W-9 for 1099 payment reporting?

3) How quickly will they respond?
- Can't wait more than a few days to fix a/c!

4) Will they work within the PMCs maintenance procedures?
- Does the PMC expect their contractors to call the tenants for an appointment? Many contractor will just make one call or text and that's it. Many contractors also do NOT have good track records of returning calls/texts - so that will really upset a tenant.
- Will they provide acceptable bids?
- Will they start work without 1/2 upfront?
- Will they provide acceptable proof of completed work?

5) Will they expect someone to meet them at the property with a check for payment or accept the PMCs payment terms? Most PMCs now pay electronically, will they work with that?

There's a lot more moving parts than the average DIY landlord realizes when you scale!

[email protected]248-209-6824
Logical Property Management4.9451 Reviews
WebsiteView Page
2Reply
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  • Dillan Cooper
    Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2025 · 10 posts · 5 votes
    1y
    Quote from @David Pittman:

    Good afternoon BP!

    Me and my wife are looking at leaving the country for a year and then possibly moving out of the country permanently. We have a custom SFH that I built in 2021 (I am a custom home builder).So I have all the contractors I need to maintain the property. We built the house to live in and then sell, but our plans have changed. So it was not built to be a rental house per say. These are a few questions I have:

    1.) Will a property manager work with the contractors I used to build the house? I'm not worried about the cleaners or the law guys, I'm thinking about the big ticket items (mechanicals, roof). We still use all the same mechanical contractors and would like to use the vendors I know.

    2.) Is it worth getting a PM for just one house? Placement is my biggest concern with doing it myself and the fact that we will be in different time zones is the other. I would be concerned that there would be an issue that I couldn't address, like the AC going out in August/September. 

    3.) IF anybody had any recommendations for a PM that is in the Galveston county area, we would love to hear them. The reviews for PM's that I have found so far are pretty bad and we've all heard the horror stories of bad PM.

    We want to keep the house because we have family close (as they age we would be very close) and if something happens to us oversees we will at least have a house in the states to come to. The plan would be to rent the house for at least the first 2 years, then make a decision about keeping the house or not.

    Thank you guys for any help!

    Hi David,

    It sounds like you’ve built an amazing home! For property management, I’d recommend reaching out to Jim Berman on BiggerPockets. He’s done a ton of successful work managing properties in Houston and can give great advice on using your contractors, managing a single property, and making sure everything runs smoothly while you’re overseas.

    He’s a great resource to connect with!

    @Jim Berman

    0Reply
    • Jim Berman
      Property Manager · Houston TX · Member since 2025 · 20 posts · 11 votes
      1y
      Quote from @Dillan Cooper:
      Quote from @David Pittman:

      Good afternoon BP!

      Me and my wife are looking at leaving the country for a year and then possibly moving out of the country permanently. We have a custom SFH that I built in 2021 (I am a custom home builder).So I have all the contractors I need to maintain the property. We built the house to live in and then sell, but our plans have changed. So it was not built to be a rental house per say. These are a few questions I have:

      1.) Will a property manager work with the contractors I used to build the house? I'm not worried about the cleaners or the law guys, I'm thinking about the big ticket items (mechanicals, roof). We still use all the same mechanical contractors and would like to use the vendors I know.

      2.) Is it worth getting a PM for just one house? Placement is my biggest concern with doing it myself and the fact that we will be in different time zones is the other. I would be concerned that there would be an issue that I couldn't address, like the AC going out in August/September. 

      3.) IF anybody had any recommendations for a PM that is in the Galveston county area, we would love to hear them. The reviews for PM's that I have found so far are pretty bad and we've all heard the horror stories of bad PM.

      We want to keep the house because we have family close (as they age we would be very close) and if something happens to us oversees we will at least have a house in the states to come to. The plan would be to rent the house for at least the first 2 years, then make a decision about keeping the house or not.

      Thank you guys for any help!

      Hi David,

      It sounds like you’ve built an amazing home! For property management, I’d recommend reaching out to Jim Berman on BiggerPockets. He’s done a ton of successful work managing properties in Houston and can give great advice on using your contractors, managing a single property, and making sure everything runs smoothly while you’re overseas.

      He’s a great resource to connect with!

      @Jim Berman

       @Dillan Cooper thank you so much for the kind words, I really appreciate you tagging me in on this one.

      @David Pittman, I'd be more than happy to go over your questions with you and discuss your needs. I'll PM you to share contact info.

      best,

      Jim

      1Reply
  • David Pittman
    OP
    Member since 2022 · 11 posts · 4 votes
    1y

    @Dillan Cooper Thank you!

    0Reply
  • Drew SygitBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    1y

    @David Pittman a PMC's challenges in using an owner specific contractor:

    1) Licensed & insured?

    2) Willing to sign a W-9 for 1099 payment reporting?

    3) How quickly will they respond?
    - Can't wait more than a few days to fix a/c!

    4) Will they work within the PMCs maintenance procedures?
    - Does the PMC expect their contractors to call the tenants for an appointment? Many contractor will just make one call or text and that's it. Many contractors also do NOT have good track records of returning calls/texts - so that will really upset a tenant.
    - Will they provide acceptable bids?
    - Will they start work without 1/2 upfront?
    - Will they provide acceptable proof of completed work?

    5) Will they expect someone to meet them at the property with a check for payment or accept the PMCs payment terms? Most PMCs now pay electronically, will they work with that?

    There's a lot more moving parts than the average DIY landlord realizes when you scale!

    [email protected]248-209-6824
    Logical Property Management4.9451 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    2Reply
  • David Pittman
    OP
    Member since 2022 · 11 posts · 4 votes
    1y

    @Drew Sygit Thanks for your reply!

    1.) We only use licensed and insured contractors

    2.) This is how we currently pay our contractors

    3.) When we're talking about mechanicals, they are responding to our warranty issues within 24 hours. The AC and plumbing contractors have 24 hour emergency lines.

    4.) 

    a.) Currently we typically call in to the contractor and they schedule with the homeowner (at least our mechanicals do). Then we verify with the homeowner that the contractor completed. Handyman work we verify.

    b.) They currently do

    c.) We do not pay anything upfront to any of our contractors. Our mechanicals are net 30.

    d.) Yes, but I would expect PMC to verify.

    5.) No, we pay most of our contractors electronically currently. The majority of the others are mailed a check, but we do still have a few contractors who pick up physical checks.

    I'm also not looking at scaling, I'm just looking at renting this one house. While we are out of the country.

    0Reply
  • David Pittman
    OP
    Member since 2022 · 11 posts · 4 votes
    1y

    @Jim Berman Sounds good. thank you!

    0Reply
  • Henry Lazerow
    Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    1y

    If it's in a nice area which it sounds like it is, just self manage. I do this even for a property I never visit. You call a local realtor for leasing, your contractors or a handyman as needed for repairs and the tenants pay electronically. Most deals just don't cashflow enough paying managers and the managers won't ever manage as good as you do. 

    0Reply
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