Remote management - internationally

[Viral Mehta]

Hello, I currently live in California and have been successfully managing my multiple properties in the Frisco (Texas) area for the last 3 years. I plan to move back to India soon and was wondering if at all it would be possible to remotely manage my properties from India (12 hour time difference makes real time communication a lot harder). I would prefer to self manage to avoid the high poperty management fees (I think its around 10% + 1 month leasing fee, etc.) and I also worry that the property manager will likely not be as dilligent in finding high quality affordable vendors, etc.

I see 4 major pieces of work
1) Tenant finding: I feel comfortable doing this remotely. I list on Zillow, primarily communicate with them over Zillow messages and then give our remote login code to enter the home. 
2) Maintenance between tenants - This one will be tricky as I will have to transfer all utilities to my name and send multiple vendors to the house for getting the house rent ready. Both of this will likely require real time conversations which will be difficult from India
3) Maintenance when tenants are staying - I feel less worried about this as I can have the tenant coordinate with my chosen vendor (that I already have or can potentially find from India by talking to them on phone at night time in India / morning in the US). I can pre-authorize an amount and if the expense is below that, the vendor can do the repairs without talking to me live
4) Urgent maintenance issues - say a pipe breaks, or tenant is locked out. I am not sure how to handle this - can I give them contacts of a plumber and say a locksmith and have them reach out to them and address the urgent issue. I will later reimburse the tenant?

Am I thinking about this the right way? Am i missing anything big? Has anyone self-managed their properties from an international location that would be willing to share their learnings with me?

If I do go the property management route - can i get a limited service option (say in which I find the tenant, collect rent, handle most maitnenance issues) and they primarily are liasoning with my vendors during US business hours and handle any urgent maintenance issues?

Thank you for all your suggestions - I have learned a lot from this forum and all the advice has been invaluable in me having the confidence to remotely buy and self manage my properties thus far. 

[Kyle Mccaw]

@Viral Mehta 

While self-management is definitely feasible, it does come with its own set of challenges, especially when managing from an international location with significant time differences like India.

You’ve outlined the major tasks well, but there are a few additional considerations:

• Vendor Relationships: As a property manager in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I can confirm that having established relationships with local vendors can significantly impact both the cost and quality of maintenance services. Property management companies often receive volume discounts and priority service due to the volume of work we provide to these vendors. As an individual landlord, especially one managing remotely, it might be challenging to secure similar terms.
• Payment Trust: Vendors may also be hesitant to extend credit or prioritize someone they are unfamiliar with, particularly when the owner is based internationally and payment assurances are less certain.
• Real-Time Issues: Handling urgent maintenance or unexpected issues can be cumbersome without a local presence. These situations often require immediate attention that might not align with your available hours due to the time difference.

Regarding property management fees, these can vary widely and you might find that the rates are more reasonable than expected. The rates you quoted are actually on the very high end.

[Engelo Rumora]

Quote from @Viral Mehta:

Hello, I currently live in California and have been successfully managing my multiple properties in the Frisco (Texas) area for the last 3 years. I plan to move back to India soon and was wondering if at all it would be possible to remotely manage my properties from India (12 hour time difference makes real time communication a lot harder). I would prefer to self manage to avoid the high poperty management fees (I think its around 10% + 1 month leasing fee, etc.) and I also worry that the property manager will likely not be as dilligent in finding high quality affordable vendors, etc.

I see 4 major pieces of work
1) Tenant finding: I feel comfortable doing this remotely. I list on Zillow, primarily communicate with them over Zillow messages and then give our remote login code to enter the home. 
2) Maintenance between tenants - This one will be tricky as I will have to transfer all utilities to my name and send multiple vendors to the house for getting the house rent ready. Both of this will likely require real time conversations which will be difficult from India
3) Maintenance when tenants are staying - I feel less worried about this as I can have the tenant coordinate with my chosen vendor (that I already have or can potentially find from India by talking to them on phone at night time in India / morning in the US). I can pre-authorize an amount and if the expense is below that, the vendor can do the repairs without talking to me live
4) Urgent maintenance issues - say a pipe breaks, or tenant is locked out. I am not sure how to handle this - can I give them contacts of a plumber and say a locksmith and have them reach out to them and address the urgent issue. I will later reimburse the tenant?

Am I thinking about this the right way? Am i missing anything big? Has anyone self-managed their properties from an international location that would be willing to share their learnings with me?

If I do go the property management route - can i get a limited service option (say in which I find the tenant, collect rent, handle most maitnenance issues) and they primarily are liasoning with my vendors during US business hours and handle any urgent maintenance issues?

Thank you for all your suggestions - I have learned a lot from this forum and all the advice has been invaluable in me having the confidence to remotely buy and self manage my properties thus far. 

Hey mate,

My opinion is to hire a local trusted property manager.

Investing in real estate should not be about getting yourself into "another job" but rather elevating and delegating.

Don't do the "$20 per hour work" per se but rather focus on scaling your portfolio.

Granted a property manager can "make" or "brake" an investment so be super diligent.

Just my opinion for what it's worth.

All the best

[Nathan Gesner]

I see this all the time. Landlords manage from a distance and "assume" everything is going great because tenants pay rent on time. That's all fine and dandy...until it isn't. 

I have seen landlords manage from a distance and lose tens of thousands because they had no idea what was going on with their property. 

[Adam Bartomeo]

TOUGH, TOUGH, TOUGH... The first 3 rules of trying to manage a property outside of the country. Anything over 2 hours away from where you live is difficult to self manage but add a 12 hr time change and a few thousand miles... I recommend that you have a PM in place before you leave.

[Michael Smythe]

@Viral Mehta we understand that you want to save money, but investors are often penny-wise and dollar-foolish!

Maintenance is bound to take more time, leading to longer vacancy periods that will cost you MORE than hiring a good PMC.