Posted by Donna on February 08, 2010 at 07:09:31:
In Reply to: Re: have you managed rentals before? posted by joe--ga on February 07, 2010 at 17:20:46:
Joe - thanks so much for the reply.
While driving the area there was another MH on land for rent and the
owner was there, so I stopped and talked to him. During our
conversation he said I was too soft-hearted and would end up getting
burnt.Well, he may be right. So we are considering hiring a property
management firm. I am calling now to interview them. They do this as
a business - know how to screen tenants, what is legal, what the
landlord-tenant laws are, and I am out of the picture if there are sob
stories.I like the business plan of buying MHs on land for cash, do any fix-up,
and then let a property management firm handle the front-end rental
piece. It may reduce our return, but it's a lot less headaches.One of the property management firms I talked to is a vendor in my
local Real Estate Buy & Hold group and had some great feedback. They
list deposits (such as cleaning and pets if you allow them) refundable,
because they find that it gives the renters much more incentive to keep
things clean. It makes sense, if the cleaning deposit isn't refundable
why clean?We are also going to list the rent price at a little below market rent to
get a larger pool of applicants. I know I'm an excellent renter and will
shop for the best deal because I know I'll be accepted when I apply.Again thanks for your response!
Donna