Renting the condo - use agency or DIY?

[MissHell]

I am considering renting out my condo, trying to decide the pro's and con's of using a rental management company vs doing it myself. Any thoughts?

[wildchild]

i have a friend who rents their's out in Myrtle Beach. They use an agency and have had very good luck with no headaches.

[shmike]

Many factors.

What is the condition of the place: do you forsee / expect any repair issues?

What is the state of the market locally: could you rent it easily by simply putting an ad on Craigslist?

What will be the "quality" of your tenents: if you are renting to 6 surfer bums, you might have more issues than renting to an affluent couple. It could also be opposite.

How close will you be to the property: if you are out of the area, I'd definitely go with a management company.

What is more important: more money or less headache?

[CasterTroy]

AGENCY!!!


if you DIY and they stiff you then you have no recourse.


I rent my house out....and have been fugged over too much to ever recommend DIY to ANYONE

TRUST ME

[Rangerscott]

I've been in a TON of rent's and you can believe me or not but when I say people don't GIVE A SHIT about anything on about the house, they really don't.

Unless this is some high class condo then you better have some money backed up, cause rents turn to shit after a few years.

[MissHell]

I am leaning toward a management company. My place is near a few bases and I hope it can be rented to military. I don't expect to make money, I just want to cover the mortgage and the management fee. I'd even be okay if I had a pay a little out of my pocket.

[Rangerscott]

Originally Posted by MissHell

I am leaning toward a management company. My place is near a few bases and I hope it can be rented to military. I don't expect to make money, I just want to cover the mortgage and the management fee. I'd even be okay if I had a pay a little out of my pocket.

Wrong thinking in my book. You being that soft at the beginning will probably be your undoing later on. I'm not saying you have to be an ass but you don't want to be soft to renters.


Here's a story for you. A guy I work with is fixing up a rent that a guy owns. He rented to a couple. Had them sign a contract, but can't have animals (not in contract). Well the guy gets a dog and tells him he's taking care of it for a friend. OK. Later on there's more dogs. Well the owner goes into the rent while they were gone and the place is a complete wreck. They let the dogs tear up everything, EVEN THE WALLS! Dog piss everywhere, etc etc. Well the owner couldn't kick them out cause he didnt have no animals in the contract so he had to wait till their time was up to kick them out and now he's spending thousands to fix the place back up.

[MissHell]

Thanks for the story!

[copperheadresort]

I'm in the same situation, I have a rental house near a base and when I went to rent it, I did so with a management company because I didn't want to have to deal with it. Sometimes you have to push them a little bit, but in the end, it is generally worth the pennies they are making on it. I'd vote management company. Good luck!

[tached1000rr]

management company