Delegating rehab to local property management company--good idea?

[Jacob Diaz]

Hello all,

So I'm about to rehab a duplex that I recently bought and am considering my options. I'm an out-of-state investor and so managing the rehab and contractors myself would be a little tricky.

Instead, I'm thinking about delegating the rehab to my property management company (ERA Real Property solutions). They already have an entire process worked out which involves getting pictures, scope of work, and multiple bids from different contractors and picking the one that looks cheapest/best.

I was recommended to them by several other investors. And so far I'm pretty content with their property management services. And I figure with all their experience and network of contractors they could be a good option for the rehab. Though on the other hand, they use a 10% markup system so I can't help but wonder how much they'll actually be motivated to do a cost-effective rehab.

Does anyone here have any experience with ERA realty and their rehab work? And if so, would you recommend for/against them?

And does anyone recommend for/against having a PM company handle your rehab in general?

Thanks in advance!

Jacob