Manage an out of state rental by myself?

[Donald M.]

I am moving out of state and am trying to decide how to manage a rental. I have spent a lot on maintenance and improvements over the past few years so I do not anticipate any major issues. I have a list of trusted ppl I have used over the past few years, including a plumber, handyman, electrician. I am planning on screening and finding the next set of tenants for a one-year lease, who ideally would renew in 1 year, but otherwise finding new tenants hopefully won't be an issue until that time.

I thought about paying a person as a property manager but it doesn't seem like there is much for her to do. Even if I only paid 5% of rents/month, I would have to pay 5% + the cost of any necessary work, but if I self-managed it, I could try to diagnose the kind of problem over the phone and instead use the 5% to actually pay for costs and use the existing team that I have. I cannot hire the current handyman I use to manage the property as well as he is well paid and is always booked several weeks out so he couldn't see the property on short notice. 

So if I pay a property manager to not do very much, how much should it be? I know someone who manages rentals nearby and also lives nearby that I could ask for this position. She is more knowledgeable about handywoman sort of stuff than I am, so potentially she could also fix things if needed but I would have to clarify as I don't know her skills.

[Max T.]

I've heard of out of town investors using a PM only for finding and screening tenants. All other issues are handled by the owner over the phone and then delegated to the various contractors. The PM collects a or time fee for the service.