Can't Sell It? Rent It Out

Property Management

Hiring a property management company can take a lot of the headaches out of renting your home if you choose the right one. Management companies will usually take a portion of each month’s rent in exchange for handling the screening, rent collection, repairs and other day-to-day landlord management aspects.

Property managers will likely either take a percentage of the monthly rent — anywhere from 10 to 15 percent is common — or they’ll take charges upfront, sometimes as much as the first month’s rent. “As your novice owners go, that 10 percent of their monthly rent is probably a big part of that nut,” Mincher says. “Say their payment [PITI] is $950.00 a month and they’re renting [the home] for $1,000.00. If they manage it themselves they can probably make those numbers work, but if they put a property manager in the mix, they are now only getting $900 in rent.”

Management companies will handle tenant screening, credit reports, and other checks before the tenant moves in. But you have to choose the right company or person. “Pick someone who is more geared toward management than sales,” Holmes says. “Especially if you’re just looking to recoup as much money as you can until the market comes back around. If you don’t have someone who has experience getting a house rented, it could sit on the rental market longer than it should.”