[AnnieS]

I'd like to know your recent experiences with property managers. I need one that is totally full service, including advertising the property, obtaining/screening tenants, repairing or replacing anything that breaks, and making sure everything is clean and in good order when a tenant moves out. I am buying this house for myself but won't be moving down for several months or more, and I want a company that will take care of it and make sure it stays in top condition. If you've worked with a company you really liked, please post. I'm new to all this, so I'll take any help you can give.

[retiredguy123]

I don't know what you mean by "several months" but if this is going to be your permanent home, you may want to consider not renting it at all. No management company can assure you that it will stay in top condition. Renters can do things to a property that will downgrade the condition, and the management company cannot prevent it. Renters can bring "service animals" or smoke in the house, and that will degrade the property. And, you really won't make a lot of money in a few months if you hire a full service management company. Just my opinion. Good luck.

[vintageogauge]

I went with The Villages Hometown Property Management. The had a tenant immediately and they handle everything you mentioned. They have a minimal number of bad reviews in comparison to other's I checked into but I'll see as time goes on. They are somehow affiliated with The Villages, I don't know in what way but they use their sales offices to sign contracts and they also use The Villages e-mail system. You are most likely taking a chance with all of them but some of them have horror stories such as not sending the owner's the rental income, not screening tenants, etc. One last thing, if I were buying a new home and moving in 6 or 7 months I would not rent it out.

[Two Bills]

This may seem funny coming from someone who has rented for 20+ years in The Villages, and many years previous in other locations, but for the short period your house would be vacant, no way would I rent it out.
Without sounding a big head, I say that my wife and I are a landlords dream.
We always leave any rental pristine after our stay. and in the case of a few managing agents and cleaners we have had, far better than when taking over the property.
We have however seen how one bad tenant can cause so much damage in such a short rental period, and cost a lot to restore the property.
For the few months you are leaving the property vacant, I would just make sure that the yard maintainance, watering system, and bug control are in place.
In all our years here, we have never met an agent, or been inspected during our winter stays, so how they are keeping an eye on things, and looking after their clients interests, God only knows!
JMHO.

[Tblue]

I also would suggest Hometown Property Management. They have my rental in Fenney and very good to work with.

[AnnieS]

Hmmm, the thoughts about simply not renting it out are something to think about. Are there companies that would take care of seeing to the upkeep before I get there? For example, mowing, watering, inside inspections to make sure the AC and other things are still working? Someone mentioned horrible renters -- that's one of my fears. I'd be devastated if somebody trashed it!

[hlsboro]

If you have to worry about it, you can't afford it. So reconsider

[Toymeister]

I have two properties, I rent one out, ultimately I went with DIY.

Let's talk about fees. 15 - 20%. You will be locked into their services. This means their home watch, etc. Typically, this and any other affiliated service, lawn Care in some cases, will be charged to you above market rates.

Pictures and marketing. Most use their own pictures. Most are cell phone quality. Believe me a 200.00 set of professional pictures will boost your occupancy rate. "Marketing" to a service means placing in on their webpage and nothing more. Very few even bother to pay for placement in Google listings, including Hometown Properties. Consider the horrid bad copy (description) on Hometown Properties. There is none, zero. Hometown is affiliated with the Villages. This is easy to confirm, as it used the Official Villages logo.

Furnishings. You will be told what you must have in the home if furnished. While this is not all bad it is a requirement. If it is not furnished many, including Hometown Properties will tell you what you are going to pay. For example some DIYer's charge back
the water or set a threshold below which is included in rent. Not with Hometown Properties, you pay it all.

Terms of the contact. You will have to trust me on this. I have written contracts worth Billions of dollars for decades. Hometown Properties management ranks up there with the top three of worst for you, the owner, that I looked at and I looked at several. Consider just one aspect of the Hometown Properties contact you can't include a Golf cart as a Villages approved vendor they will refer those requests to another Villages approved vendor. Let's not forget YOU THE OWNER do not get to set the rent. Let's say there is something special about your place that makes it especially valuable, sorry, that's the price.

Now Hometown Properties is not alone in some of these negatives,and we could argue the merits of any of these points i.e.golf cart. But you get the idea

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by AnnieS

Hmmm, the thoughts about simply not renting it out are something to think about. Are there companies that would take care of seeing to the upkeep before I get there? For example, mowing, watering, inside inspections to make sure the AC and other things are still working? Someone mentioned horrible renters -- that's one of my fears. I'd be devastated if somebody trashed it!

Let's tackle these one by one. Homewatch services can watch your home at 50.00 a month. Lawn service also at 50. Shrub service is also available.

AC. Three options. 1. Do nothing, chances are great it will be fine. 2. Rely on homewatch. 3. Pay for wifi and get a smart thermostat. Most send you an email if the HVAC is not working.

Bad renters. The really bad ones are quite rare. Some do damage, usually accidental. I have had holes in the wall (7" holes) towel holders ripped off the wall. I. Almost expect something to happen. I budget 500.00 in materials for breakage with me fixing everything myself. Most years I go over budget.

For me, I am keeping our new home vacant for close to a year with a few trips to check on it. No homewatch, no wifi. I am not worried.

[dnobles]

We rented through Hometown Property Management They take 20% but we had no headaches. If something is missing or broken they charge the renters credit card.

[Garywt]

I bought back in March and we use it as a vacation home. I refuse to rent it because I want everything to stay new for us and we don’t want to have to reserve weeks for us, we just want to show up.

[Bay Kid]

I really don't want strangers sleeping in bed, using my bath, cooking on my stove, etc. I have rentals, but not in the home I plan to live.

[l2ridehd]

I have 2 rental homes and like Toymeister I do everything myself. Even when I lived in Virginia I hired a really good homewatch person and managed everything else. Now that I live here full time I still do everything. At this point almost all my renters are repeat customers so damage is usually nothing. Sometimes a small accident happens. I now rent one home year around mainly because of the Florida and county 9% transient tax and the other is booked 8 months and I almost always pick up another one or two months. I will move the other home to year around at some point because of the 9% tax.

Tenants here are much better than all other rental properties I have owned. They are going to retire here or keep returning for a month or two every year. They take care of your home. The biggest problem I have is by not living there you miss the small issues unless they tell you about them. A draw sticks, a faucet has a small drip, the oven light quits, an electric cord is frayed, sheets are worn, a knob is loose, those kind of small things. Once a year during the summer I try to do a complete 100% inspection so I can fix those things, but I still will miss something. I always ask them to leave me a list so I can fix them, but most don't. Still with everything considered it has been a very profitable and rewarding experience. I have met many wonderful people and had both homes paid for by my renters.

Paying a property manager 20%, Florida and county 9% taxes makes transient rentals not worthwhile. It's a business that taxes and management fees will eliminate.

[Back9]

I've had great experience with Premier REMAX -- Dena Manning and Brian Feldman.

I'm renting a house in the Historic District, which is "older" by Villages standards. As such, certain other Villages property managers treated me like a 2nd-class-citizen. It was a nightmare.

But Premier REMAX was 1st-Class, 100%, right from the start.

Good luck.

[Alana33]

Do you have to rent it? Will you be able to move in when you're ready if you rent it?
Sounds like a lot of hoops to jump through.