First time landlord, totally new to renting out my place. Would all you prefer a recommend investing in a property management company to just get things started year one, and then once I'm comfortable handle it on my own?
If I put some time into it I could figure it out, I think, but I just started a new job and haven't really had a chance to look into lease, how to manage the income, being available for viewings etc. It's about 10% monthly fees. I could pay zero, but outsourcing is tempting..
One tenant is very manageable on your own. I use and recommend TurboTenant - it’s free for landlords (they make money off of tenant credit checks). It screens tenants, publishes listings to Zillow, Rent dot com etc, and bills/tracks rent payments. https://turbotenant.com/r/T3duZXI6NDU5OTgx
Its good to get the hands on experience for some time then move to a property manager. That way you know what's b.s from the property manager and helps in analyzing future opportunities
As a former property manager who’s now a landlord: start off on your own. Property managers are not going to take care of your property or care to bring in quality tenants the same way you would. If you’re just starting out, it’s best if you know the ins and outs before you delegate them to a third party.
My thought process was I’d start off managing on my own, and once I got to a place where it was overwhelming or too much of a headache, that’s when I’d switch over to a PM. It was a good call bc managing turned out to be much easier than expected; I’m on 10 units and still haven’t needed to call a PM. Most investors I know will tell you the same experience.
PMs work well for scale. If it’s one property I think you can handle it.
As someone who worked in property management, I would say just do it yourself. Everyone is incompetent and have no incentive to actually improve your investment.
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Mentor
If you’re willing to do it yourself anyways but just need help getting started, try one of the many property management softwares out there.
They are usually just $50 / month or so.
Do it yourself to start out with its pretty common sense. From there you'll be able to realize the value of a mgmt company bc you did it already.
https://www.avail.co/i/91714
Do it yourself. It’s pretty easy once contract is signed and if house is not too old.
Mentor
Where are you located?
I started out managing it myself. It’s getting too overwhelming with my job. I’m hiring a property management company now (after 1.5 years). You can always start out doing it and see what you think