Looking to rent my house out when I PCS and have a property management company handle the affair. My question is how do I determine what company offers the best service?

References..........

Get a piece of 8.5 x 11 white paper and a pencil. Use the pencil to draw several columns. In the left column, list all the things you want in a property manager. Then, call around to several companies and check which companies have those attributes you want. Using Wray's advice should get you the names of several companies.

(See what a business degree can do for you!)

I had one in Corpus.. He got 10% and didn't do $hit...He was the one and only one I ever had.. I've done it myself ever since...

Wray...

Wray,

I had one for my condo in Alameda. She kept that thing rented for all but three weeks over nine years...for $50 a month.

I think I got one or two maintenance calls the whole time. Each month the rent would show up in my account. It was absolutely painless.

Luck of the draw perhaps.

Brian, you are lucky.... I guess I wasn't... the guy I had was a jerk.

Wray..

You should also check your state' s requirements on licensing. Some do require it, some don't.

Schedule a face-to-face when you have it down to a few choices. Your gut reaction will tell you if you've made the right choice.

Then to be on the safe side, ask a trusted neighbor to inform you of anything unusual. We suffered Wray's fate - guy took his 10% and did nada. The neighbors informed us the tenants had a dog, a pit bull no less. They also let us know our house had become a flophouse - the lease was written for a family of four. At one point there were 9 or 10, and we had no idea who they were.

If the ones you talk to require a contract of some sort, go for as short a term as they will go. On the other hand, up in these parts, property managers either find a renter, or find a renter and collect the rent for you. Up here, 1 months rent is typical fee for finding a tenant, 10% of monthly rent for collecting the check and putting it in the bank. Maintenance issues goes either by the hour or they find someone to go in and fix it.

Once you are comfortable with what you are doing, you may go the route Wray took ... and do it yourself.

Good luck,

--Jim
Life is good!