Is property management worth the cost?

lightspeed

Hi

I'm in a situation where I bought a house 2 years ago about 10 houses down from my parents house.

Unfortunately not long after my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and is in a hospice. It is looking like she will pass in the next few days. I don't want my father living on his own and my partner is fine with the idea of me and her as well as our infant daughter moving into my Dad's house.

The plan then is to rent out my current house.

I'm wondering is it worth having a local estate agent handle the management of the property.

Have anybody much experience of being a landlord renting out on your own vs using a rental management company ? Is it worth the loss income which I understand is typically about 10% monthly gross income?

Sounds like the rental property will be close to you. Its probably easier to manage yourself. Have a read of the RTB website to get familiar with your obligations as a landlord. Get setup on ROS if you are not already so you can do your tax return. You will be a lot more selective in picking a tenant than an agent will. If you go with an agent have a good look at their charges, many charge extra fees for finding a tenant, fees for call out, etc

3DataModem

I've done both.

After the experience, I would absolutely never in a million years self-manage a property so near to me, especially a house. Every leak, every noise, every stiff door, could have them pop in to ask you something. Especially considering your current personal situation, you want to minimise hassle. I currently pay an agent so that the tenants don't even have my name, let alone my contact details. If the heating doesn't work on Sunday night of a bank holiday weekend in winter, they won't care that you are at a dinner party, or at the movies, it is their home and their heating. It is WELL worth paying (and tax deductible too!) to know they will never ever contact you.

You can find good agents who are cost-effective. I'd recommend looking local, and I'd recommend someone who does a lot of rentals, so they have access to the service people for repairs etc and are used to 24/7 callouts. I tend to lean to agents who don't charge to find a tenant, so they are incentivised to find a good one.

Victor

Sorry to hear about your mother.

If you have no experience of letting a property, you could use an agent for the first year and then review matters when that time is up.

You might talk to a solicitor / tax advisor and consider the tax / inheritance implications of living in either property.

Apologies for bringing this up at this time, but is your mother's will in order?

DownByTheGarden

Just remember you are going to be the scum of the earth to your tenants and their friends. Thats just the way it is, no matter how nice or good you are. If they are renting so close to you some of these friends will live near you. Also they will be down to you with the least little thing wrong as you are so available. And if you dont sort every little thing immediately you are a slum landlord. Use an agent. Get recommendations.

Flinty997

I prefer the agent. Though I went through a bad one before finding a good one.

sonyvision

My property is rented 400 meters away, it's managed by a letting agent and it's money well spent. Had a few issues at the start neighbours calling me and complaining, diverted all of this to the letting agent and problems solved.

When something breaks in the house, the agent emails us with options and all we do is respond via email handy!. It's about 1,000 a year to manage and I get a report every 3 months on the house. Rent is paid to the agent then to me.

I walk past the house most days, even saw the tenants out with there kids and I'm totally anonymous. No way would I want a landlord hassle of been available 24/7

Long Sean Silver

i have used letting agents in the past, and quite frankly i've found them to be a waste of money. they do nothing you cannot do yourself, except when you do it, you know it'll be done properly. on one occasion the letting agent while showing the place walked out of the property and forgot to lock the front door! he was told in no uncertain terms what to do with himself.

the main piece of advice i would give is to interview every prospective tenant, and if you have any doubts say NO. make it quite clear from the outset, you are not their friend, their agony aunt or their mummy. leave them under no illusions what is expected of both parties.

that said i am semi-retired, so i have buckets of time on my hands, but my tenants contact me about once a year, no more. if you find you have a needy tenant on your hands, i find that mentioning how high rents are going tends to reduce contact fairly quickly.

newmember2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120629848#Comment_120629848

I tend to lean to agents who don't charge to find a tenant, so they are incentivised to find a good one.

I'm not seeing the incentive, surely a more 'demanding' tenant will increase their call-out charges.

3DataModem

Call out charges? Get another agent.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120633332#Comment_120633332

Some agents will sent a tradesman at the drop of a hat. An electrician to change a lightbulb etc. I have a family member who lets out the house next door, to the one he lives in, with no an agent without any problems . On the other hand the same person rents out an apartment several miles away through an agent so that the tenants don't know who he is. The agent is reliable and there is relatively little hassle but there have been a few problems with tradesman carrying out rtepairs to the apartment. The family member does not want to visit the apartment in person, at all.