If you are planning to rent your home in the near future, you may be considering renting “By Owner.” The idea of saving the money you might spend on property management fees is attractive. After all, who wouldn’t want to have a few thousand more dollars to spend on your investment rental home?
However, renting your home by yourself is more time consuming and stressful than most people realize. One of the scenarios we property managers see all too often is the homeowner/landlord that puts their property up for rent without planning realistically for the whole process. Then, after weeks or months of frustration, they call on a property management professional to bail them out and get the job done quickly and efficiently because they cannot take it anymore.
So, before you put that FRBO sign in the yard, give some thought to these points from your local property manager:
You’ll need a fair market value on your home. You may think you know what your home should rent for, but often homeowners/landlords overprice their property, which will lead to more time on the market. Property Managers have many tools available to evaluate the market in your area and give you an accurate rental price.
Applicants will throw out different options to you on offers. Knowing you aren’t paying management fees and often seek FRBO because they are searching for an “owner that is willing to work with them”, applicants will offer you possibly a much higher rate than your asking price, in lieu of something, such as bad credit, bad rental history, etc.. Research shows homes listed with a property management company have a higher rate of leasing to qualified applicants and usually spend less time on the market than those rented by owner. Having a licensed property manager who is experienced in negotiating price and terms is well worth the cost, as well as already having the training and experience needed to manage properties for others.
You will need to coordinate your own showings. Do you have the flexibility to field calls and schedule showings at all hours of the day and night? You may not be prepared for shifting your family’s schedule around daily so that someone can be home ot have the ability to travel to show the house. How will you respond to strangers roaming through your home, closets and cabinets? It’s well known that homes show better when the homeowner is not home and the prospect can look freely, under the supervision of the property manager, on their own, or with agent representation.
You’ll need to advertise your home. When you list with a property manager, your home goes into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), where it is available to every agent in your area, and it will appear on major syndicated websites such as Zillow.com, Realtor.com and other national sites. Additionally, your property manager will market your home within their network of agents, on social media, in print media, mass mailings, local signage, open houses, or other sources. There are flat fee listing services that will put your home in the MLS system, but they don’t offer you the support and personalized services a dedicated property manager can give you.
The process is just starting when the application is received. Getting the application approved is the first step of many in the process, and things can, and often do, go wrong along the way. The approval, the security deposit, the lease, the walk thru period, maintenance, tenant paying rent, scheduled property visits, and much more are all hurdles that must be cleared. Each step requires a clear and legal paper trail that a property manager knows how to properly execute to protect your rights as a landlord. A property manager can guide you through any complications that might arise and will be able to speak effectively on your behalf to the other parties working on your rental property.
We’re here for the long haul. As your property manager, we want to build a lasting relationship with you. We are here to help you with stress free, and worry free property management.
