Anyone Self-Managing Out-of-State MF?

[David de Luna]

Anyone figure out how to cobble together a remote property management system - MF property manmanagement of out-of-state units?

[David Smith]

If you have good tenants, very doable.  

[Charles Soper]

It’s all about your network!

You could very easily get the systems in place for rent collection and maintenance requests.  The biggest physical piece would be reliable contractors (maybe a service contract instead of a per event basis?) and some way to manage low frequency events (got a realtor friend?) like showings, move-ins/outs, eviction notices, etc.

Agree with @David Smith though, good tenants would be a must, maybe that last people is a tenant who you could compensate somehow.

How big is the property?  Good neighborhood?

[Chase Louderback]

Hi David,

I know some landlord that will remotely manage 4 or less unit properties, but the question becomes:

1. How big is the property you are trying to self manage
2. What is your tenant base like

If you have a 20 unit apartment building, then you are really just asking to give yourself headaches when you have to answer tenant requests and deal with turnover, repairs, etc., remotely.  If you have a 4 unit building, that is 2/3bds and a more "long term" type of tenant base in a strong market, then it's definitely doable with a solid system and good team in place.

[Justin Kane]

yes it takes time, patience, and a huge hedge in your numbers, but build the right teams and anything is possible

[Allyssa McCleery]

Personally I think it is best for your tenants to have a relationship with a property manager (which will ideally create a better standard of living for them and reduce vacancy for you). In my opinion it is worth the expense of hiring a property manager that they know is local and can deal with them directly. The property manager will also have better knowledge of what the market is doing and therefore be able to tell you when you can raise rents and how much you can raise them. Other than just collecting rent and arranging to have repairs made,  a property manager can also handle any problems that surface between neighbors (one neighbor complaining of having too many people over/being too loud at night or blocking each other's cars in or not taking out the trash, etc).

[Craig Bellot]

I would recommend the following:

Finance: Quickbooks for accounting and rent reminders with online payments

Maintenance: Basecamp or Asana for managing work orders and maintenance.

Leasing: Signnow to collect online signatures on leases, deposit to hold agreements, etc.

Visuals: Wifi camera system like the Blink XT to have eyes on the exterior exits and common areas.

Team:  Probably the most important is having a reliable handyman, then attorney for evictions, and specialized contractors like electrician, plumber and contractor.

When we were starting out in Bridgeport, CT, this setup worked wonders!

[David de Luna]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. 

@Craig Bellot, so you successfully remote manage with this system in place? The cost is less than a PM?

[Yannes Chiang]

@Craig Bellot Would you please share your thoughts on the Quickbooks for rent accounting? I am shopping around the accounting tool. Do you use the desktop or online version? Thank you in advance! 

[Craig Bellot]

@Yannes Chiang I use the online version. There’s a little bit of a learning curve, however once you get it, there’s a lot of automation that can be done with the classification rules. In addition it integrates with Zapier and other online tools pretty well.

On the other hand I’m sure there are other tools for accounting just as capable.