Property Management: The Other Side of Landlording
This post doesn’t really have a point. I just need to vent a little.
The Real Estate Investment Gurus never seem to mention the property management side of landlording. They will extol the virtues of the Buy & Hold strategy, but they tend to gleam over the time you will spend mowing the lawn. Don’t get me wrong. I like mowing the lawn. I pay a service to weed eat around homes and I do the mowing sitting down. The problem with mowing is the repairs.
Photo: © iStockphoto.com/blondiegirlI spend almost as much time under the mower (or without a mower) as I do actually mowing. Or at least that is the way it seems. So far this year I have spent more than $1000 getting the mowers up and running and right now they are both out of commission. I can pay the weed eater guys to mow, but that’s an extra $150 each time they mow. I mow more often than I trim weeds.
The mower just broke and I am really not in the mood to repair it again. I know exactly what is wrong with it and how cumbersome the repair is, but I have like zero energy to do the repair. It’s $32 in parts and about 2 hours of my time in the hot sun. It’s a two person repair, so I’ll get to it in the morning.
Please share any unpleasant (or pleasant) memories of landlording you have in a reply.
Unfortunately, bad management can bring down a rental property investment.
For example, owners have problems when they lose control of their rental properties.
If you choose the wrong tenant or fail to address certain maintenance
issues, your real estate investment may turn into a costly nightmare. A novice
rental property owner can quickly find the property turning into a money pit.
Experience is a great teacher — if you can afford the lessons. In rental management,
you can be financially devastated when you have a mortgage to pay
and your new tenant gives you a rubber check for the security deposit and
first month’s rent. And to make matters even more challenging, you may find
that your occupant has skipped town after trashing your rental unit.
It’s not the nightmare I’m afraid of. I will react to that. I’m afraid I’ll let a little slip each month and, like the frog in the water, I’ll be boiled alive before I realize it.
My biggest worry isn’t the mortgage payment or the lawn. It’s that I will slowly cave into the life style of my tenants. Parking on the grass, leaving cars on blocks, not covering the trash, etc, etc.
That’s what scares me.
This is why most investors should just have a solid property management company. There is several other things that about 90% of investors don’t know that a property management company would. Plus, a pmc will also have deals with whole sale maintance for your homes which would save you tons. If your having issues with your properties feel free to E-mail me and I will answer your questions.
tlhagent4@gmail.com
Steven
Hi, do you know any good property management companies in the dfw area? I own mostly residential props.
thanks.
I work for a very reputable management company with offices nationwide including here in Dallas. Everyone’s concerns here are warranted as there are a lot of unethical PM companies out there. We take pride in our ethical business structure and I would be happy to discuss what we offer if you are interested.
Regards,
Ben Garcia
My name is Steve and my company develops Landlord Enterprise, a complete software package for landlords, owners, and property managers.
Having reviewed your blog, I find it to be a wonderful resource for landlords and property management. I was wondering if you would have the time to review our software and post your impressions on your site.
Landlord Enterprise was developed specifically for landlords and owners in the small to mid unit range and allows you to track tenants, collect payments, and run powerful reports. It features an easy-to-use interface, forms, complete scheduling, task, and reminder modules, full income and expense accounting ledgers, email marketing tools, and an unbeatable price.
The software will print application forms, leases, and any other documents used every day. You can use the forms you use now, but Landlord Enterprise will allow you to auto-populate tenant, unit, and lease data right in the document – saving you time and administrative effort.
Landlord Enterprise has over 15,000 satisfied users since 2002 – and we offer a risk free, non-expiring trial version for download.
You can learn more at our website http://www.landlordenterprise.com or feel free to contact me directly.
In return for you taking the time to do this, I would be interested in purchasing a banner ad on your website – if you have rates in mind for that sort of thing please forward them to me.
Also (even if you don’t want to review our software!) we’ve just launched our new rentals website, and we offering all of your readers access to the beta test version – they can post their vacant rental listings for free – no strings attached – just mention the site at http://Rentals.LandlordEnterprise.com
Well thanks again for your time and I look forward to working with you.
–
Regards,
Steve Moores
Founder & CEO
Landlord Enterprise
Direct: 403 263 9111
steve.moores@provericon.com
http://www.landlordenterprise.com
http://www.realagentaccelerator.com