I was going to manage myself. I work 2 1/2 days a week at my job, so I think I have time. I've inspected all 15, and 11 had tenants that have lived there 8 years or longer, 4 since the 90's. 1 is vacant ( they turn quick at that price, but I'm going to experiment with raising rent with hud when I close the deal on that one), 1 was disgusting, and 1 guy painted the house like an African jungle. Other than that, a few were a bit messy, but good. 4 have hud which pays some, but most of the others stay because of the low rent. The current tile looks like the old bathroom stuff, so I'm thinking about replacing it with the big vinyl squares that look nicer and can be replaced easily (some have told me to stick to the ugly squares). I will be doing simple maintenance, also painting with flat latex and a paint gun (same colors) but have lined up a maintenance guy who does bigger stuff and was recommended by a friend. I'm getting a box at the ups store, they accept rent checks if people want to drop off, and I can use that po box for the address for tenants to mail rent. As far as net income, I'd like to double my monthly outlays (8000 a month collection; I bought with 0 down at 4.15% for 20 yrs). That would be an average of 550 a month. At 650 per, that would collect close to 10,000 a month fully rented. The goal is in 12 years to have 10,000 positive cash flow (the other 3 properties I own get 2800 a month and are paid off). The hud office said they have a shortage of 3 br (I went 3 different times, they all said the same thing, and a girl in the office said she waited 3 months to find one). I want to raise rents slowly so as not to mess up my cash flow because I know a lot of tenants are there for the cheap rent. I thought about raising the better kept ones first (so they cost less to flip), then the ones that pay but will need more work and expense id raise last. Another reason for renting myself is that I interviewed 3 management companies, and they use their website, signs, and Craigslist only. Zillow, trulia, and facebook seem to be great resources that they're not using, so I can add those as well. it also seems that it takes a month for them to clean, then they advertise the next month, for a longer turnaround time. I start advertising when I know one is coming up, then show a nicely kept one ( with an agreeable tenant, i do something like a new screen door or something nice for them) so I can flip it asap. So long term, I expect to cap in the low teens. And, I loathe vacancy. I'll make it a bit nicer and charge a bit less with the idea that I might be able to be a bit pickier. Newer plumbing, electric, brand new roofs, vinyl siding, all 15 are carbon copies. I don't have experience in the low income arena, and they're on the crummier side of town, but I looked at 5 years of records, including returns, and the tenant histories, and decidedly it was a risk worth taking long term. So, this is the thought process; I really appreciate the feedback and Welcome any advice, positive or negative. I just wish I had seen this site earlier, what a great resource.
