All Forum Posts by: Ryan Hilbun

How have you structured loans/financing with friends and family? I may have some family interested but I'm not sure how to structure a deal with them. Please provide any success stories and/or failures and any other creative ideas you may have.

I've managed one of my rentals in WA remotely for several years with great success but it may not be for everyone. I initially hired a terrible PM and fired them 6 months later. I would have fired them sooner but that's how long our contract was. They had horrible communication skills and the owner either didn't realize or didn't care which were both big red flags to me. They also took advantage of call out fees. For example: I wanted the roof cleared of pine needles and a large broken limb in a tree removed. They charged two separate call out fees because the person "forgot his ladder and equipment to remove the branch." I started to believe their entire business model was based on charging call out fees.

Some options if you want to rent it:

1. Find a good property manager (easier said than done). You need to know the numbers, how much will your investment return with management fees and additional money each month for repairs.

2. Hire a property manager to get the renters in the house and handle all the legal stuff i.e. background, credit, lease. They usually charge about 1/2 months rent for that service. IMO that's money well spent. I wouldn't even try to manage it yourself unless you know a good handyman or can find one before you leave.

3. If you do manage everything yourself, treat your tenants with respect, get repairs made as quickly as possible, and try to establish a good rapport (doesn't mean you should be their friend). I truly think this is the key to my success with tenants. I hear lots of tenant horror stories but I haven't had those problems and I believe the reason is how I treat them. Of course you still have to hold them to the agreement. If you're too nice some people with take advantage of you with out a doubt. Maybe I just haven't dealt with enough renters yet.

I have properties in different states because I move around for work and it's allowed me to buy and rent out when I move. I don't know if your move is permanent but personally I want my properties consolidated locally. Its much easier and cheaper to manage when your local. I will get rid of my remote rentals when I get somewhere more permanent but for now it's working out fine. everyone's situation is different so ultimately the best thing to do is whatever works out best for you.

I hired a Property Manager that was less expensive than their competition and I got what I paid for. They had very poor communication, and tried to take advantage of any opportunity to charge a call out fee. I fired them after 6 months but learned some good lessons along the way.