Self managing long distant rentals

[Samuel Bergeron]

Hi everyone, I’m a fairly new member to BP so I thought I should take advantage of the community and get some advice. I currently have 5 doors in Cornwall, Ontario that I manage myself. I plan on moving to Toronto in the next 4 months which is about 4 hours away. I don’t really want to get a property management company to manage my doors, the company here doesn’t have the greatest reputation. I figured I can manage the properties myself with some helping hands. What I am wondering is how much would you pay someone to do drop by visits if there is anything that needs to be handled at the units? Would it make sense to pay a monthly fee even if they don’t have to go by the units or just drop by fees. Cheers!

[Ming Lim]

Hi Samuel - Welcome to BP.  I used to pay someone a flat finders fee of one months rent to lease up a property. It was the going rate in Waterloo at the time. I don't use them anymore however.

If you're looking to make your long distance property management more effective check out The Ontario Landlord Toolbox by Quentin D'Souza. Great Ontario specific advice on systems and processes to minimize your efforts.