What would you say are the drawbacks to renting out your own apartments as opposed to using a realtor?

Question

What would you say are the drawbacks to renting out your own apartments as opposed to using a realtor

Answer 1

for me, personally, I wouldn't want to have to go through the whole showing of the apartment and doing a credit check, etc. it also seems to me that if someone rents through a realtor, they're probably more likely to actually pay the rent. I wouldn't want to have to deal with the tenants that don't pay- I'm not sure how much recourse you'd have in collecting the rent

Answer 2

If you can find a good property manager who specializes in single family homes and condo's, then you are probably best with that scenario. Be prepared to pay at least 5% management fee (of rents).

A good property manager will have all of the rental forms and liability issues covered. He/she will also know about running credit and criminal background on each prospective tenant.

Whether you do yourself or contract out, make sure your contract gives you the right to inspect the property once a month and make sure that you get enough money up front for security deposit to cover any damage.

If you have not yet purchased the units you are going to rent out, remember that in your financial analysis, you need to get at least 25% return on your money (based on how much cash you pay for each unit) in order to get a comparable return for what you would get on an investment that doesn't require a great deal of management like rental properties do.

Answer 3

Exposure.