Hassle marketing property

[Austin Berlick]

Hi everyone -

I own a 5 bed 4 bath home here in North Austin, TX that I currently house hack. I've been doing 3-6 "trial leases" for new tenants and they can extend after; however, I have a W2 sales job that takes a lot of my time. Finding tenants via facebook, craigslist, word of mouth, etc.. doing a phone screen, running background checks, etc.. takes A LOT of my time. I'm starting to wonder better ways to outsource this work and find solid tenants who will stay for the long haul. 

Unfortunately, I don't have tons of margin to work with. When I move out in Sept, get married, and fill my current room, I'll basically be breaking even after expenses and maintenance. 

Any vets in here that have solid advice on how I can outsource finding awesome tenants who sign longer leases and all the work that goes into that?

[Abel Curiel]

Quote from @Austin Berlick:

Hi everyone -

I own a 5 bed 4 bath home here in North Austin, TX that I currently house hack. I've been doing 3-6 "trial leases" for new tenants and they can extend after; however, I have a W2 sales job that takes a lot of my time. Finding tenants via facebook, craigslist, word of mouth, etc.. doing a phone screen, running background checks, etc.. takes A LOT of my time. I'm starting to wonder better ways to outsource this work and find solid tenants who will stay for the long haul. 

Unfortunately, I don't have tons of margin to work with. When I move out in Sept, get married, and fill my current room, I'll basically be breaking even after expenses and maintenance. 

Any vets in here that have solid advice on how I can outsource finding awesome tenants who sign longer leases and all the work that goes into that?

 Congratulations on the upcoming wedding!

Are you looking for long-term tenants to occupy the entire home? or are you looking for individual long-term tenants for each room?

You can look into the BiggerPockets-affiliated software for landlords here in the Tools section.

Another option could be a local Realtor who either works a ton of rentals or does a lot of business in North Austin.

The software route may still require involvement on your end i.e. setup, communication, document review, etc. 

The Realtor route will help you offload most if not all of the workload. 

Not sure how rentals work in Texas but in New York you can still have the tenant pay the broker's fee.

All the best!

Abel

[Austin Berlick]

Hi Abel -

Thanks for the insight. I'm looking for individual long term tenants on a rent by room basis. 

[Savannah Yingling]

Quote from @Austin Berlick:

Hi everyone -

I own a 5 bed 4 bath home here in North Austin, TX that I currently house hack. I've been doing 3-6 "trial leases" for new tenants and they can extend after; however, I have a W2 sales job that takes a lot of my time. Finding tenants via facebook, craigslist, word of mouth, etc.. doing a phone screen, running background checks, etc.. takes A LOT of my time. I'm starting to wonder better ways to outsource this work and find solid tenants who will stay for the long haul. 

Unfortunately, I don't have tons of margin to work with. When I move out in Sept, get married, and fill my current room, I'll basically be breaking even after expenses and maintenance. 

Any vets in here that have solid advice on how I can outsource finding awesome tenants who sign longer leases and all the work that goes into that?

Hi Austin! I agree with Abel. Find an agent in the area or even PM company to help take care of securing a solid tenant. That will take a good amount of the process off your hands. I am an Assistant Property Manager and we have a few owners who prefer to manage without paying a fee monthly, but they will use us to help secure qualified tenants. If you're close to a military base, try Facebook groups with a focus around those individuals. Goodluck!

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Austin Berlick:

You get what you pay for. Finding quality tenants requires a lot of experience and takes a lot of time. Hire someone cheap and you'll suffer for it.

If you are "breaking even" after all expenses and maintenance, then you probably can't afford to pay a professional to handle the marketing and screening. You may want to consider selling to get out from under the property.

[Jordan Moorhead]

Quote from @Austin Berlick:

Hi everyone -

I own a 5 bed 4 bath home here in North Austin, TX that I currently house hack. I've been doing 3-6 "trial leases" for new tenants and they can extend after; however, I have a W2 sales job that takes a lot of my time. Finding tenants via facebook, craigslist, word of mouth, etc.. doing a phone screen, running background checks, etc.. takes A LOT of my time. I'm starting to wonder better ways to outsource this work and find solid tenants who will stay for the long haul. 

Unfortunately, I don't have tons of margin to work with. When I move out in Sept, get married, and fill my current room, I'll basically be breaking even after expenses and maintenance. 

Any vets in here that have solid advice on how I can outsource finding awesome tenants who sign longer leases and all the work that goes into that?

 Check out padsplit, they help with this. Reach out to me too if you need anything!

[Austin Berlick]

Thanks man. Hope to stay in touch with future rentals in austin area. Heather and I will be looking for our duplex/triplex to househack in 25'

[Michael Smythe]

Why are you renting this if you can't make it cashflow?

[Josh Bowser]

Hey Austin - check out Padsplit, Homerome, or Alcove. These are all 'rent by the room tenant brokerages'.