Monday, January 10, 2011

My Plan Has Hit A Snag

My tenant stopped by today and told me that she is moving out at the end of the month. Hmm...I guess I shouldn't quit my job just yet then. I kind of expected it since they were late on the rent so much last year and never did seem to catch up on all of their bills.

I was hoping to have enough money to rip out the carpet and put in tile before the next tenant. Now I will have to decide between new tile and paying the money towards the mortgage. If she had moved out at the end of December I probably would have tried to furnish it and rent it out for the Gem Show. That is funny because I just sold the last of the house furnishings at the garage sale. I think the only stuff I have left are linens and kitchen supplies. That is probably for the best. It is a lot of work to set up a house and I would have spent money on beds, dressers and tables and chairs.

This time I am considering hiring a property manager. I have been lucky with my current tenant because she almost never complained and kept the house very tidy. I don't want to get more tenants like the ones before who trashed my house and I don't want to have to ask anyone for the rent or late fees. That is definitely something to look in to tomorrow. If they can get me more than $750 in rent then a property manager will pay for themselves and I will have one less thing to worry about...assuming I find a property manager I can trust.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

good luck on a property manager ... it will almost certainly eat into a good portion of your cash flow (typically first month's rent plus 10% of rent plus a variable charge for taking care of maintenance issues) but if you get a good one it will save you a lot of grief and time.

Living the frugal life in France said...

I would strongly recommend a company to manage your property for you. We live in France and our house in the UK has been rented out for 13 years. We have only had 4 tenants in that time but some major disasters - a flood and drug dealing to name just two. The rental company have dealt with everything for us and at 10% of the mothly rental it is really worth the peace of mind
Good luck in your decision
Sue

DOT said...

We use a property manager for our rental and have no complaints. They are from one of the major real estate companies. We called 4 companies and "interviewed" them. You can also check their websites to view their current houses for rent to get a better idea of how they operate.
Yes, they do charge 70% of the first months rent and 10% thereafter, however I have NEVER had to collect rent,deal with repairs, look for new tenets, listen to sob stories about the rent being late or clean the house when they moved out. I do feel you have a better chance of finding a good paying tenet with a good management company. In three years we have never had a problem.

Anonymous said...

I use a property manager for one house that is out of state, the ones in state I manage myself. It seems like I have a lot more service calls in the out of state house. It is an older house, but you always wonder. Good Luck.

Petunia 100 said...

I think it would be worthwhile to make any needed replacements (such as flooring) before your next tenant moves in, property management company or not. You will have an easier time renting it out if it looks neat and clean. You can be pickier about your tenants if your property generates a lot of interest. Also, I wouldn't want to rent a place if they told me that in a few months they were going to replace the flooring, which would require me to move my stuff out and inconvenience me.

Its a drag that it might put off the mortgage's death by a few months, but you're still almost there. :)

Daizy said...

Anonymous, I'm not getting that much cash flow as it is so I am hoping a property manager would get me more than I am getting now and enough extra to pay for their fees. And less grief would be worth the money.

Daizy said...

50 and still trying...It sounds like you have a good managment company. It would definitely be worth the money for a good one.

Daizy said...

Dot, that is exactly what I'm looking for, someone to deal with the hassles. I'm not good at picking my own tenants. The first were druggies and the other, well, they try but always seem to be behind.

Daizy said...

Anonymous, my current tenant didn't complain about anything but the house is getting older. I can't be that lucky forever.

Daizy said...

Petunia, I reluctantly agree. And it is a huge drag to be so close to paying it off and then to have to use the money elsewhere. I was getting depressed just thinking about it today. :(

Anonymous said...

$700/month is BEAUCOUP cash flow. All the better if you could raise your rate to partially cover the property manager's fee that could offset a good bit. Bottom line you have to figure how much you value your time and energy and what you would do otherwise.

Be careful and do your research on property managers if you do go this direction. There are a lot of bad ones out there.

Daizy said...

Anonymous, With new flooring I think I could get enough rent to cover the cost of a property manager. I'll have to start researching to find a good one.