<p>We made a could-be mistake and put an offer on a house in our new area (H’s transfer) that we fell in love with. This would be all fine and dandy except we haven’t had an offer on our house yet :o</p>
<p>We have only had it on the MLS for about 5 days (listed w/out for 3 weeks before, but then we made the contingent offer last week and needed to get it moving) and have had a lot of showings, but no offer. Sigh. It’s getting discouraging. </p>
<p>So, an option might be to turn it into a rental but we’d need a property mgmt company to handle it for us since we’d be several hundred miles away. </p>
<p>Any advice on how to research them? We’ve never been landlords before…and don’t really want to. But we’re afraid it may come to that.</p>
<p>No advice on how to find good rental managers–except to ask the top real estate agents in the area. As they are the ones selling those properties, they have a good idea on which companies do a good job of maintaining the properties. Most importantly, you want a manager with a good ten year track record, one who does on-site inspections four or five times a year and one who has good repair contacts.</p>
<p>Turning it into a rental is a smart idea. I’d be a gazzilionaire in assets if I turned the properties we owned into rentals. I will do everything to avoid selling the properties we now own–and I’ll make the same recommendations to my boys. Helping them with down payments along the way would be a great way to help them build up asset bases.</p>
<p>We did a rent-purchase agreement with our first house when we had to move several states away. This was years ago, but the RE agent set it up for us. We discussed long term rental, but our house was not in an area that would attract many renters (at that time, too rural). I believe she could have arranged the property management side of that as well.</p>
<p>I’ll mention a last-ditch option, should you not sell your current house nor be able to find a reliable property management firm in time: suggest your H talk with his employer and see if they have any option to assist in some way to cover such situations.</p>
<p>My H moved to the opposite coast for work and I stayed while the boys finished the school year. Our house was on the market for 4 months without any offers, then we moved out and it sat empty for a while afterwards. H finally asked his company if there was anything they could do, and they helped with various aspects of the former house and new home until we were able to sell the first house. But if he hadn’t asked, probably they wouldn’t have told us about what they would help with.</p>
<p>DDM, I suppose this is Sunday-evening Quarterbacking but what on Earth possessed you not to put the house on the MLS from the beginning? Selling = Price + Exposure. (Price subsuming criteria like size, condition, location).</p>
<p>I’ve heard that some agents in some parts of the country don’t put their listings on the MLS as a way of increasing their chances of selling it themselves but that doesn’t represent the client (Seller) well at all.</p>
<p>Property management firms take 10-15 percent of the rent, fwiw. At least around here.</p>
<p>Our family is in the same situation. My dad is still back in the states trying to sell the house, and we are living in our grandparents house here until we get the money from the house sale to get an apartment of our own. We had it up on the MLS since the beginning, but no offers for the last eight months. </p>
<p>But dont worry because when summertime comes around, there will be a lot more people out there looking to buy a house. Or so the agent told us! </p>
<p>Another option you might want to consider though, is to hire a friend to just look over your property when you move. It could be a lot cheaper, but then you might haave to worry about what would happen to your friendship if anything went wrong.</p>
<p>TheDad,
we did not go MLS initially because the agency we listed with has a (much cheaper) flat-rate fee OR MLS for a percentage. Our neighbors directly across the street from us sold their house this way last spring and never had to go on the MLS. Their sale did take a while (~3mos?) and they got full price. We are in a pretty desirable neighborhood and actually had quite a few showings before going on the MLS. But that was when we had the time to kill and hadn’t found a house that we wanted yet. NOW we are needing to sell sooner. Since last Tuesday we have had 6 agents bring buyers through, so I feel like it is indeed picking up.</p>
<p>Yes, it was a mixture of a slightly higher price, and the booming market is starting to fall (our house is in Nevada). But my dad apparently lowered the price a few weeks ago and is starting to get some lookers. </p>
<p>Basically our agent has a mantra of “Wait till spring, wait till spring, wait till spring”. DrDrewsmom-I hope someone buys your house quick!</p>
<p>In many areas of the country, the real estate market is much slower today than it was last spring. </p>
<p>I had a property managment company taking care of a house for us that we rented out to another family until we move into it this summer. They charged 10% of the gross rent, plus nickle and dimed us on everything else. I eventually took over the management myself, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that,</p>
<p>It is highly unlikely that your tenants will treat your house with the respect you did. It is very likely that you or your management company and your tenants will have a misunderstanding about basic housekeeping issues. Even though my contract with my tenants is crystal clear about their responsibilities, they find it difficult to make sure the sprinker system is turned on. I know it isn’t beyond their capabilities, he is very well employed and the wife does not work. </p>
<p>My tenants are moving out on or about April 19th. That will be one of the happiest days of my life. </p>
<p>Many years ago, I owned several rental houses and swore I would never do it again. My current tenants reminded me why.</p>
<p>thankls for the replies!
I heard back from a mgmt company that I emailed over the weekend and it sounded like gnusasaurus’s thing: 9%, $19/hr for repairs, $20 for mowing, etc. They said they prefer to come and mow so they can check to see who is living there, and the general condition…so they would be by every week. So, sounds like it could be nickel/dime, but maybe that is just standard. </p>
<p>I know my BIL in Sacramento has rented out his old house but he still lives very close. I remember he said something about his renters letting parts of the lawn die. That would be very frustrating!! :mad: </p>
<p>Our market here is actually hotter than last spring! At least in terms of prices. We are priced at 255k. There are about 20 houses in our subdivision for sale right now. One is listed for 265 and one is 280. All the rest are 300k on up. So I feel like we are priced OK. Our house is a bit smaller in square footage, so that’s why we went a little lower. </p>
<p>The down side to the “wait until spring” thing (which was last monday, right ) is that while there may be more buyers, there are also more people listing houses. When we first listed our house there were only about 10 houses for sale in our neighborhood, so it has already doubled.</p>
<p>In our neighborhood, right outside of Washington, DC, houses are being marketed at prices comparable to a year ago. Houses that sold in 2 days in a bidding war a year ago, are selling in 2 months now. </p>
<p>Of course, every market is going to be different. I think there is ample evidence that the speculative real estate mania is over in many of the “bubble” markets. Some people I know who speculate in real estate think there may be a developing mini-bubble in some interior areas of the country, as the hot money looks for new areas of speculation. But, i would tread carefully.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there’s a real slow-down and large inventory for all but entry-level homes in most parts of the country. “Not been able sell” is a euphemism for being overpriced for today’s reals estate market. Home prices have dropped compared to what your house might have been worth a year ago. Ughh</p>
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) is that while there may be more buyers, there are also more people listing houses. When we first listed our house there were only about 10 houses for sale in our neighborhood, so it has already doubled.</p>