Posted by Ben (NJ) on June 23, 2001 at 15:47:20:
I plan on kicking back for the month of July
at our beach house on Long Island, and this agent plays a key role in that! Even if his fee is a bit high, my peace of mind is worth it. Thanks for the kind words.
Very impressed with agent… - Posted by Ben (NJ)
Posted by Ben (NJ) on June 23, 2001 at 14:04:51:
One of the properties I took through tax foreclosure was starting to give me a migraine. I found out a mother lived there with four little kids. She refuses to leave so my only alternative was to have the sheriff evict. The house is about two hours away from me so I don’t want to deal with eviction, property management, finding tenants, collecting rents, etc. A friend of mine recommended an agent in the area, they said he’s a real “go-getter”. They weren’t kidding! I spoke to him on the phone, gave him the address and he went right over there immediately AFTER he hung with me! Knocked on the door, inspected the place, went to each room. He recommends trying to sell the place with the people in it but if it doesn’t work then he will handle the eviction, find a tenant and collect rents. He will basically act as property manager during the time it takes to sell. If this place wasn’t so far I would handle it myself but I am so grateful to him that I am giving him the full 6% commish from the sale and 10% of rents if it gets to the point where I have to rent it. Does the 10% seem high? I have never had to deal with this issue before so don’t know the going rate.
Re: Very impressed with agent… - Posted by Ronald * Starr
Posted by Ronald * Starr on June 24, 2001 at 14:11:58:
Ben C (NJ)-----------------
Jack Reed says one should not be paying more than 6% for management. But his expertise is with multiple-unit properties. For single-family rentals, 10% sounds ok to me. That is what I pay in OK. And one manager there, who certainly was doing a good job selling me that she was a good manager, wanted 15%.
I think part of it is the absolute amount of rent also. The lower the rent, the higher the percent that seems reasonable to me. I’m renting properties at $300 and soon up to about $500 or so in OK. If you are renting properties at over $1300 or $1500, I could see reducing the percent down to 6% to 8%.
Congratulations on getting a good agent.
Good Investing and Good RestingRon Starr*
Re: Very impressed with agent… - Posted by Mike
Posted by Mike on June 24, 2001 at 08:44:51:
In my area of NJ the management companies I know of take 1 months rent for a year of service.How about emailing me the agents name and office number I can always use a good agent. Thanx Mike
Re: Very impressed with agent… - Posted by Jim IL
Posted by Jim IL on June 23, 2001 at 16:11:57:
Ben,
Around here in these parts, 8-10% is normal for property management.
And, since this agent seems to be the type to go “Above and beyond”, he will certainly earn that 10%, plus the commission.
As long as YOU are happy with your profit on the deal while paying him to handle the hassles of it, why not go for it?
Makes sense to me.
While he is dealing with the current tenant, and trying to sell your home, you can be out buying more and making more money.
Time management is something I still work on, but one thing I have down is;
If you can afford to hire someone to handle things you are not good at, or do not have the time to complete thoroughly, you are actually saving money.
Especially when we can use this time to make more money.
Surely you can make up the 10% of rents, and the 6% commission by doing something else in a very short time.
Congrats on finding such an agent, they seem to be rare these days.
And who knows, after this deal, he may help you make more money later.
Have a great day,
Jim IL
Re: Very impressed with agent… - Posted by Ed Copp (OH)
Posted by Ed Copp (OH) on June 23, 2001 at 15:37:35:
Ben,
Sounds to me like you got a pro. The 10% sounds a bit high, and it sounds to me like your agent is probably worth a top of the line fee (in other words “you done good”). Now you can enjoy your lesiure time…