1st Time Renting Property Help

[Sunil Kurji]

Hey everyone, So I am ready to put my house up on rent and I need some help/advice what I should do about handling this. I have a full-time that I plan on sticking with and will be handling just this one home. Plan is to buy/hold/rent multiple properties in the future but I'm currently setting myself up for that. I really want to know if it's do-able to handle one property with a full-time job and not have to hire a property manager. In my mind it doesn't seem like a hard task to do, but Wanted to ask those who are in the game and know what to expect when renting out properties. The home is fairly new, built in 2005, so I don't expect any major renovations for another 5-10 years. Just had the roof re-done a few months ago from a recent hail-storm and I have guys coming to re-do the lawn. I have ripped the carpet out and put in laminate wood floors and plan on re-painting the house to a neutral color (haven't decided what color). The property values in my neighborhood have been skyrocketing lately and I see a lot of people trying to cash in their investments. But Not me. I have a golden goose here that's gonna keep laying golden eggs for me for the future. I was wondering what route I should take to finding reliable tenants. Who I should call to find them, maybe? What all should I be responsible for and what the tenant should be responsible for? What types of contracts should I have? And what the typical rent rate should be? I see property managers take anywhere between 8-12% of your property value but that's how much I plan on having my rent rate at. So it doesn't make sense for me to hire one. At the same time, I haven't called and asked but I plan to very soon. And if there are any other advice you guys may have, I will greatly appreciate it. Thanks!