Out of State Property Manager Advice

[Gregory Murphy]

Hey BP Community! I am about to close escrow in a week on my first property in the outskirts of NE San Antonio. I live in Southern California and wanted to know the best way to rent out the house when I am out of state. I am not going to use a PM, I want to gain experience as a landlord so I can deveolpe more skills to make me a better investor. I will use PMs in the future though as I scale. I will be living at the house for about a month getting it ready to rent out (the house needs some slight updating). But I am not going to live in the house until I find a tenant. My current plan is I will have a door lock on the front door that I can create passcodes for from my phone back home in SoCal, then I will have Simpli Safe cameras inside the house to see the prospective tenants when they are viewing the house. I will use the RentRedi software, and will pre screen them before I even allow them to view the property. What do you guys think of that? I am looking to hear what others have done in this situation. Any tips/information would be greatly appreciated!

[Rodney Sums]

Quote from @Gregory Murphy:

Hey BP Community! I am about to close escrow in a week on my first property in the outskirts of NE San Antonio. I live in Southern California and wanted to know the best way to rent out the house when I am out of state. I am not going to use a PM, I want to gain experience as a landlord so I can deveolpe more skills to make me a better investor. I will use PMs in the future though as I scale. I will be living at the house for about a month getting it ready to rent out (the house needs some slight updating). But I am not going to live in the house until I find a tenant. My current plan is I will have a door lock on the front door that I can create passcodes for from my phone back home in SoCal, then I will have Simpli Safe cameras inside the house to see the prospective tenants when they are viewing the house. I will use the RentRedi software, and will pre screen them before I even allow them to view the property. What do you guys think of that? I am looking to hear what others have done in this situation. Any tips/information would be greatly appreciated!

 Was there a typo in there? You said you will live in the house for a month but you are NOT going to live in the house until you find a tenant?

 There is a trend going of people taking your listing, posting it themselves at a lower price posing to be the property manager.  Since you're making it possible for anyone to gain entry to the property, they can register to get a code, show the property to people, collect a deposit, then disappear while the "tenant" moves in.  Then you have to go to court and evict them to get them out all while getting no rent.

Do you have a team established for maintenance needs in San Antonio or a relationship with all pertinent vendors you may need?  How familiar are you with the landlord/tenant act that applies to where your property is?  

Your desire to be a knowledgeable investor is admirable.  Considering you're inexperienced at property management, it's risky to manage a property yourself.  The risk is heightened by the property being several states away. An incident can occur that may require your physical presence.  The cost of travel, lodging, and incidentals can potentially be similar to the cost of a PM that is experienced, nearby, and familiar with the laws.   

I don't mean to be rude when I say what you're planning would be like someone saying they want to develop their skills as a pilot by buying a plane and flying it alone before going to flight school.

My tip for you is contract a PM.  Let them do the legwork and take the risk of dealing with tenants.  if you didn't already, take classes and get your real estate license.  Work as a PM to gain experience, then manage yourself. If not that then in the very least read on the subject and get familiar with local laws.