Building a Property Management Company for STR

[Ashley Wolfe]

I'm looking to create a property management company for STRs in the area of Texas where my cabin is, the Hill Country.  I've self-managed mine remotely (4 hours away) for almost a year and a friend is asking that I manage his house located about an hour north of mine.  I'm willing to take it on but I want to make choices in the management of both properties that will help me scale.  I'd like to add up to 10 properties to my management portfolio in the next 12-18 months.

I don't use any mgmt software for dynamic pricing because its not available in my area yet (through Beyond Pricing) but it could be for properties closer to Austin/San Antonio.  I need to know the best PMS software to use that will allow me to scale and add more properties easily.

I'd also like to know what your tips are for managing properties of others.  I'm taking in so much information from Vacation Rental Success by Heather Bayer.  She has sooooo much great info!  If you're not listening to her podcast, go ahead and subscribe already!

[Luke Carl]

@Ashley Wolfe I've enjoyed following your journey. Even way back when we talked on the phone and you thought I was crazy for telling you that you could do this. Looks like I was right :) 

My advice is... don't do it. Life is not about working. Being a property manager is work, and not fun work. I've taught hundreds of folks how to do what they're doing with short term rental, and a small percentage of them get the idea to manage other peoples properties. The idea usually fizzles out. Occasionally they seem to have some success and pick up 5-10 properties. Then they lose interest because they realize it kind of sucks, and the quality of the management goes down. 

Think of it this way, what can you offer that a giant company like Evolve or Turnkey can not? "Locally owned and operated?" Travelers don't care. They just want a hot - hot tub and a place to throw towels on the floor. 

I do however wish you luck if this is truly the path you'd like to walk down. My suggestions are as follows... 

Learn the rules in your area. Do you need to be a licensed real estate agent (likely) and do you need to have a management license of some sort. Do you need liability insurance (likely). Every state will be different. 

Hopefully you'll get some decent advice here that will steer you in the right direction, but I urge you do search the forums and do some googling as you'll find better and/or more information. 

Once you've got all your ducks in a row and you are legal... put your friends property in your name, list it, and the gig will be basically the same as what you're dealing with on your own property. (This is why I say it's a bad idea. For me personally there's no way I'd deal with OTHER PEOPLE's guests). 

Lastly, my advice is spend your time figuring out how to get more properties, not more guests. You must OWN the property in order to create long term wealth. Otherwise you're just creating a job. 

Good luck!!!!