Absentee landlords, or remote landlords, are the people who own rental property in a different area than where they live. You can absolutely manage a property successfully from other parts of the state or the country or even the world. There’s nothing to be afraid of, as long as you are willing to outsource some key areas.
Tenant Placement
Find a good real estate agent to market your property and get a good tenant in place. We always encourage you to look at real estate agents who are familiar with rental properties because they need to know how to screen tenants. Some property management companies will also help you do this even if you aren’t a long term client. You want to document the move in condition, so have a photographer go there and document how the place looks with photos and videos. This will help you capture the condition of the property at move in, and also give you comfort and show you how the place looks.
Property Condition Reports
You want to know what’s going on at your property, so pay a professional to complete a property condition report. We do this all the time for absentee landlords. It’s as simple as sending someone over to take pictures of each room and any problems that may be there. We look under sinks for water leaks, which is a common problem, and we make sure the tenant has been changing the air filters. This is worth doing to protect your asset.
HVAC Service
Service the HVAC system twice a year. In Texas, it gets extremely hot in the summer and cold in winter. Have a tech go over in the spring and the fall to service the unit. This will cut down on emergency phone calls and increase the longevity of the system.
Managing a property remotely can be done, but you need a few boots on the ground to help you. Most owners want to take care of their own basics like rent collection, but need a company to help with maintenance and other things that need to be taken care of. If you need help while you’re managing a property from out of town, please contact us at McCaw Property Management.