Did you have to lease your home instead of sell it?

Property values have dropped, inventories are up and foreclosures are still out of control. These conditions are causing individuals to to consider leasing their homes.

This is the best scenario for people when they have a mortgage to pay but must leave the home for one reason or another. BUT - the problem I see is that the For Lease by Owner signs are out in the yards for way too long.

It is not uncommon for an owner to be so concerned with covering a mortgage payment that the house is priced too high and it sits for months vacant and generating zero income. A reduction of $100 per month equates to $1200 per year. That is not too much when you consider that one month of vacancy may well cost you that much or more.

I suggest that rather than looking at the short term monthly picture that you look at it from an annual view. You may well have to contribute to the monthly rent to make ends meet but that is better than a long term vacancy.

Professional property managers have access to numerous advertising outlets that are not available to the average home owner. For one they have access to the MLS with its tens of thousands of Realtor participants. Many owners are concerned about the cost of management and making enough each month to cover their note and management fees. Honestly, this isn't always possible. But once again a month of vacancy could quite possibly have paid for your management fees for a year. For example if you list the property yourself at $1200 per month and it takes you three months to lease it, you have lost $3600. Many property managers charge a leasing fee equal to the first months rent to cover advertising expenses and an ongoing nominal fee for monthly management (about 10% is common). So if the manager leased the property in 30 days due to their networking and marketing efforts that are not available to traditional homeowners, they would have saved you $1200. This does not include the fact that handle everything from tenant screening, rent collection, late night maintenance calls, evictions and legal forms.

Think about it, don't price too high or your house will sit. Consider a professional property manager and the benefits they offer for what amounts to a nominal fee.

Why Use One?