I need advice on starting a Property Management business

[Adam Lendi]

Hi! I'm new to the site and I need some advice from sound property managers who are in the business. I am laying out the framework for a property management LLC I want to start in the Denver area and I hoped some of you could share from your own experiences the things I should consider or shy away from.

I am good at networking and I feel I could quite easily build a base of contractors and real estate agents to help me get my first tenants and services laid out; however, before I sign my first deal, I want to have every contingency planned for.

I am working on purchasing a second home that I will occupy so that I can rent my first. My own home will be the first property I manage and will give me the opportunity to learn from trial and (hopefully not too much) error what I need to account for, before I manage other people's homes.

I plan to take a COS course and get my certification within the next year, but I will already be managing my own property prior to that, as the next course in Denver isn't until September and I plan to buy my next property within the next month. Do I need my COS to manage my own property if I intend to write the management expenses off on my taxes?

The big items I think I need to plan for are as follows, although I haven't filled in the blanks on all of them yet:

-Advertising/Marketing

-Tenant Screening

-Contractor Networking

-Legal Considerations (Liability Coverage, Evictions, Collections)

-Financing (Handling Rent, Disbursments, Emergency Repair Payment)

-Property Management Software (Thanks to the forum, I've found TenantCloud)

These are the big items in my outline which, of course, have several sub-bullets. Can anyone spot any considerations I have left out? Offer any advice on those I have listed? Offer any life lessons learned in your own experiences?

Thank you in advance!

Adam