How I Manage Rentals in Several States

I own rental properties in more than one state, and I manage them myself. Here are the systems I rely on, what I would tell someone thinking about doing the same, and the one thing I would do differently up front. This is my experience, not advice for your situation.

Two tools do most of the work

I primarily use a tool called Innago, which is a property management software. And then the entire Google suite of tools, from Google Docs to electronic signatures to email.

Property management is pretty straightforward. You have tenants who need to communicate with you. They need to be able to pay. And they need to be able to submit requests for maintenance.

All of my tenants have my direct line. Between those two tools in our arsenal, we have been able to be pretty successful at managing the properties.

The point is not the brand of the tool. It is that each of those three needs has one clear place to go, so nothing depends on me remembering a text message.

Distance is the real problem

I do not recommend having rental properties outside of the state you live in. Really, anything outside of a 60 to 90 minute drive becomes a little more problematic when you are trying to stay on top of things without outsourcing it to a property management company.

A property management company handles the day to day for you, things like collecting rent and taking maintenance calls, and it charges a fee for that. The fee cuts into your bottom line. That is not a bad thing, but it is still not ideal.

So when should someone hire a property manager? From my experience, it comes down to distance and who you have nearby. Inside that 60 to 90 minute drive, you can get there yourself. Outside of it, you need somebody on the ground, whether that is a company or people you trust.

Local people make it work

I also rely on local people. I have friends in each area where I own property. So if I need someone to just drop in, do a drive by or coordinate with a contractor, that makes it easier. Having someone within 10 minutes of your homes makes it an easy favor to ask.

Lockboxes, digital keys and things of that nature also make coordinating a lot easier, with people getting inside and outside of the home. A lockbox holds a key and opens with a code. A digital key lets you give someone a code to the door without being there to hand them anything.

What I would do differently up front

One thing I would do differently up front, especially across multiple states, is use artificial intelligence to help pull my documents and processes together, and then bring that to a real estate attorney or a property management company that can review it. Even if it is just a one-time, a la carte consultation.

The goal is to make sure you have everything tight and right for the worst case scenarios, such as evictions, move outs and people not paying on time. Because laws change from city to city and state to state.

I learned that one on my first property, where I should have had my lease reviewed a couple of times. Artificial intelligence can give you a starting draft. It cannot tell you what the law requires where your property sits. An attorney licensed in that state can. A property management company can tell you how those situations play out day to day.

Keep it simple

That is the whole system: one place for tenants to pay and ask for repairs, my direct line, people I trust near each property, and documents that somebody qualified has looked at.

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