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Mentor
My rentals are 3 hours away and I manage them myself. Here is how I learned to do it and it will take less and less time as you get efficient doing it yourself.
For listings I use Zillow. Filter Zillow and look at recently rented units, this will help you determine your market rate. Also looking at current Zillow listing to help you in developing your own listing descriptions.
I use Zillow for applications. It’s paid by applicants and Zillow lets them pay once and it’s good for a month to certain number of apartments so it benefits that applicants as well. The Zillow app uses Experian for credit checks and checks federal and local criminal databases for criminal background checks.
I use Innago for payment processing and maintenance . Very easy to use. Sends invoices to tenants, you get a receipt when they pay. Makes tax season very simple. Tenants can also send maintenance requests through the platform.
For maintenance, if I can’t fix it myself I just call a local handyman.
Property managers are very expensive. It’s typical one months rent to find a tenant and typically 6-8% of rent per month to manage it. For the couple hours of work a month, I find those fees ridiculously expensive. If you get to the point where you would have to fly to get to you property I could see the justification for getting one but if you are living a half hour away, I would second guess that decision.
Overall, this isn’t rocket science, it’s just takes time to get a couple reps. Once you’ve built out your processes it gets a lot easier.
Mentor
I only show the properties once full applications are submitted and if I deem if the application clears. I will schedule all the tours within the same day or weekend and just knock them out all at once.
On move in just give them they keys and they move in. On move out I just go to the property to collect their keys and take pictures for any security deposit issues.
The real estate broker that helped me buy it is the one listing it as a rental and has a crew of tradespeople for repairs.
We did the same, paid our real estate agent half a month’s rent to get the place in order, take professional photos, get it listed online, do showings and screen potential tenants. Yes, you can do it yourself for cheaper, but we felt better having the help for our first property. Our agent also was happy to share her contacts and when repairs have come up I’ve asked her for advice.
Fb market place and Zillow Rental Mgr
I live 4 hours from my two units and manage it all myself. Craigslist/fb marketplace for listing
Yes, I go and fix or I call a repair person if it's beyond my skillset. There are credit check companies specifically for landlords. It's cheap and you can typically pass the expense on to the prospect.
I had my realtor who helped me purchase the property find my tenants.
It was honestly the best decision ever. They do the marketing’s, showings, applications, and she’s my “filter” before I see any legit applicants.
A lot of people viewing the property like to waste your time.
Get a realtor who is a landlord themself. They’ll have a better judgement on who to go with and not. I say this because they get paid when they rent out the place but you want to trust someone who doesn’t just rent out to anyone.
The fee was one months rent. I think it’s 100% worth it. I have a great tenant because of it
Additionally, it’s one of those things where you can outsource your stress. There are so many other things you need to keep in mind that offloading one thing is worth it