New construction Rental (Newbie)

[David C.]

Hi,

I purchased a new construction home as my first rental property and have a closing date of 12/28. I live 1000 miles away from this new construction rental. I have a couple of questions and would appreciate if anyone can chime in.

1. Would you recommend I go with a full-blown property manager or I can semi manage it myself and just have a handy man on call when needed given that it is new construction.

2. Should I get a realtor or begin posting the property up for rent now? again the closing date is a few weeks from now. Any drawbacks?

3. Any online platform you would recommend for rental owners to manage and collect rent through tenant portals, open maintenance tickets etc.. etc..

Any advice or feedback is appreciated.

Thanks

David

[Scott M.]

There really isn't "Semi managing" it.  You either fully mange it or hire a manager who will.  Be good to drop the illusion that new construction means free from problems.  Not sure about the local laws where this home is and if they require any kind of guarantee / warrantee from the builder.  I know some areas require builders to warrantee certain things for a year.  You won't really know the issues until a family gets in and puts stress on the home and the systems.

You might have the builder to back you up, you should have a handyman as well.  And you need someone local to help you with showings.  

No matter if it is new construction or a 50 or 100 year old house the decision to hire or self manage is a personal one.  Do you have the time?  Do you have the personality to deal with tenants?  Do you know how to properly screen?  

Given it is one house I would suspect you can have the time.  As for the other items only you can answer that. 

The big question you should ask yourself is what if the sh#t hits the fan.  Can you deal with it?  Lots here will say a single home is easy to manage, you should do it and yes, in most cases I would agree assuming a good area, good house and you get a good tenant.  Any one of those three things are not true and/or the home is a sh#t hole and you will be in over your head before you know it.  

Truth is, you won't really know until you try what is right for you.  The biggest stumbling block for you up front is going to be screenings and showings.  If poor screening is done and a bad tenant slips in you will probably need a manager.