Hey Rachel, One side note is that Landlord's choice varies a lot but I'd take a look at local listings that do have a professional property manager and review their screening criteria.

Ashish Acharya to be a property manager you need a broker's license depending on the state.

@Palani Wright It depends on the state your looking in.

It all depends on the market.

It works well enough there... but I guess it depends on your goals?

Personally, I’d never consider that option for multiple reasons: 1) you cannot properly dispose of your own property as you can’t rent it by yourself, 2) the price is inflated as they make you pay for the convenience, 3) the performance of your unit is completely dependent on the performance of the building as a whole and the performance of the management, 4) property management is extremely expensive and they’re going to be the ones making most of the money while you take all the risks and 5) you cannot get rid of the property managers if they don’t perform.

@Juan De La GarzaI think the reality is it depends on the market and the market cycle.

Depending on how low your score is, you may be able to househack sooner rather than later.

I’ll be working out of state with these folks so it’s important to me that they are good, dependable people with connections to be my hands, feet, eyes on the ground.

If it will be an investment property, you can use a DSCR loan where all you need is the money for the down payment and to close and credit score depending on the factors below.