Taking the plunge in hiring a property manager

[Brian Barfoot]

Hi all,

     So far all of my experience has been with single family houses renting to what would probably be called B-class tenants. People I'd enjoy having a beer with or maybe even inviting over to dinner if they weren't tenants of mine. The thing is, I'm starting to see very good opportunities in neighborhoods where I'd have to rent to a different level of tenant. It seems hard to pass on a triplex that's selling for 65K and pulls in 2K a month but I don't want to personally deal with the issues that might come up in that neighborhood (possible drugs, crime, etc.) I've never used a property management company but this seems like the place to do it so:

     What do any of you typically pay to have someone else manage your properties?

Is it worth it in your opinion/experience?

Do they itemize (x dollars for screening/showing and then another x dollars for maintenance) or is it typically just a package deal?

Any other things I should be extra careful about when getting into this situation?

I'm open to all suggestions here as it's new territory.