Managing Out of State Rental Unit on Your Own

[Sid Verma]

I am a new investor. I own rental units in Columbus Ohio and want to take over the management of these units myself. I currently have a property manager but we wanted tighter control on the finances as the units are not making any profits. I was planning to use the Innago app to help with messaging portals, payments and general management. How do you proceed with the logistics of managing your own units remotely? For example, who handles the keys locally, and are there services that can help me find tenants and organize showings?

[Travis Timmons]

I think the biggest problems to solve for is showings and tenant turnovers. You may have to pay a PM or agent 50-100% of 1 month's rent for tenant placement or get a smart lock and camera to allow people to do unsupervised showings. I know landlords that do this, but I have not and it makes me a little nervous. 

We have smart locks on all properties and do not provide keys. They are in a lock box on the property in case of emergencies, but we have never had to use them. 

As for tenant turnover, you hire a vendor or get in the car and go visit the property yourself. I'm a fan of spending time at your remote properties. There are just little quirks and issues that you'll never find unless you stay the night there.