Home, Land, Property Buying and Selling - Should I get a property manager if I rent out my house?

I would like to rent out my current house so I can buy another one but I don't know where to start on how to rent out your house. Also I am VERY VERY scared of renting out my house because of the horror stories about the tenant trashing the house.

I heard about property manager that helps you out, but I don't know all the details about it. From my understanding, they help you find a tenant, do a background check on them, collect money from them, repair anything that needs to be fixed(at my cost), and any paper work. Pretty much they will do all the work for you for a monthly fee.

The question that I wasn't able to get answer is what if the tenant trash the house? What will they do

I've also been told that I can do all of that myself instead of paying someone. You only need a property manager if you have multiple houses that needs to be managed. Personally I don't think I can because I am too nice of a guy and I don't know the "landlord law" that well. In a way, I don't want to do something and get sued for it.

So is a property manager something that is common to have if you don't know what you are doing?

We used a property management company when we rented ours. Was going to be for 3 yrs, but turned out to only be one. They took 10% of the rent as payment. We put the conditions we wanted,(small pet ok, no dogs, etc) and thats what they put in the listing.
They did the initial screenings, walk thrus, contracts, rent collection, etc. They came by and checked the property on a regular basis. They did the final walk thru,ensured cleanliness, that carpets were pro cleaned, refund of deposit, etc. It was pretty painless.

And they didn't even make any money, cause they had to buy the tenants a fridge, as we took ours with us, and they thought it was staying.

Management companies also have good relationships/contracts with plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc. You would have to call whoever you can in the event of a problem and would be paying full cost, unless you also have people in the trades.

Unless you are able to devote time on a moments notice, I wouldn't do it myself.

Thanks for the reply. Most likely I will get a property manager.

A property manager cuts into your profit. However, they remove some of the work from you and sometimes bring very helpful knowledge to the table. The biggest downside in my opinion, is that it is difficult from the start to break even renting a single family home and a property manager makes than even harder taking 2-10% of your gross revenue. The bottom line is only you can decide.

A property manager cuts into your profit. However, they remove some of the work from you and sometimes bring very helpful knowledge to the table. The biggest downside in my opinion, is that it is difficult from the start to break even renting a single family home and a property manager makes than even harder taking 2-10% of your gross revenue. The bottom line is only you can decide.

Thanks for the input.

Personally I don't care if I don't make any PROFIT in the sense of making extra fund monthly. Just as long as the cost of the PM and the rent will cover my monthly mortgage I am fine with it. I am looking at the bigger picture and hope to gain a profit when I sell the house in a few years when the value goes up.

i agree with mitch that property manager cuts your profit, but if a good manager is contacted with decent repute, it saves you a lot of trouble of finding the tenants, doing paperwork with them and getting the repair work done etc. i would always suggest for a property manager
vik