Читать книгу Property Management Kit For Dummies - Robert S. Griswold - Страница 52

If you own rental property in another city or state, you may initially consider managing your unit from afar. As long as your tenants have lengthy tenancies (giving you minimal tenant turnover), faithfully mail their rent checks, and make only a few maintenance demands, this arrangement can work — but it’s a fragile one. When looking at the cost for a property manager, you might want to know the time requirements and travel costs for even a single unplanned trip to your rental property. One major problem or a few minor ones can turn the job of managing the property into a nightmare.

Many real estate investors are attracted to the prospects of higher returns by purchasing out-of-state rental properties. But even with lower acquisition costs and supposedly decent rents, many of these investment opportunities are too thin to allow for hiring a local professional property manager. Consequently, long-distance property management becomes tempting. My strong advice is to think twice about handling your own residential rental property management and maintenance from hundreds of miles away. You, or someone you trust, need to be in the immediate area to routinely inspect and maintain a residential rental property, especially when an unexpected vacancy, roof leak, or broken pipe demands urgent attention.