All Forum Posts by: Nicholas Cotroneo

For the folks with less than 10 rentals that are local I completely understand the desire to DIY.  A good percentage of our clients are military who get transferred out of area.  We provide a very valuable service especially when that person is deployed and cannot deal with the issues that arise.

@Jerry W.  I agree with your expectations. The great thing about our portal is a landlord can log in or set up notifications for payments, maintenance calls, etc... This way a landlord can be involved as little or as much as they would like.  Some would like us to earn our fee, others are happy to manage it along with us.

@Jesse T. You brought up a very important point. A property that rents for $1K a month even at 10% does not justify the fee to manage it if it is a troubled property (bad tenants, tons of maintenance).  Here is Jacksonville driving to and from one side of town to the other to check on a place even twice in one month eats up that $100 fee.  It is about picking and choosing the right properties.

I do believe property managers serve a useful purpose.  Once quick story, we had a client who was renting his place DIY for $1400/mo and asked my broker to place a new tenant at the same price.  Given my broker's experience with the market he suggested listing his place for $1800/mo which was inconceivable to the client.  The place rented in under at week at 1800/mo.  Good DIYs know the market but maybe not as well as someone who does Real Estate on a daily basis. 

Great advice everyone, I am taking notes like crazy.  From what I can gather is added value is more important than peace of mind.  Out of town landlords and people with multiple rentals are best targets and yes friends might want to just be friends and not involved in business. I guess that's my Italian side coming out. 

The placement discussion is interesting.  My broker is teaching me that very diligent screening regardless of whether it is placement and management or just placement is key.  I love the idea of not charging a re-placement fee if the tenant leaves before 12 months. Keep your customers loyal. 

Catastrophe control is another thing property managers can bring to the table.  I sat and listened to a colleague of mine talk about how his tenants managed to cause 40K of damage to his house and because he was stationed out of the country he could do nothing about it. 

Thanks for all the great advice!

Hey Folks,

I have several friends who have properties that they manage themselves.  I am trying to build my portfolio as a property manager but most are unwilling to turn over their properties because they do not see the value in having a property manager.  Even as a licensed real estate agent I have a property manager for my property in Washington State given I live in Florida.  The convienence of not having to worry about it is worth the 8% monthly fee.  My company here in Jacksonville charges 10% but that comes with the appfolio web access and a trusted list of vendors and handymen.  I truly believe that our setup is worth it but most folks are unwilling to turnover their properties.  What would it take as DIY landlords for you to turn over your place.  Honestly is having a property manager worth your money?

Thanks,

Nick

Hello everyone! So far I am fascinated by this site, so much information and experience to offer, thanks to all who post. I am a Navy Officer transitioning into Real Estate as a realtor to start and hopefully that allows me to start investing. Having moved every three years and being able to purchase homes during some of my tours I am not new to real estate or even being a landlord just have been doing it out of necessity almost. I look forward to reading more please check out my new blog jaxfloridaproperties.com and if you are interested in working with me in the Jacksonville area please send me a note! Thanks, Nick