moving from brooklyn

Hi brownstoners, we own a 3 unit brownstone- 2 2 bedroom apts and an owner’s duplex. may have to relocate out of state for work reasons. want to hold the property. anyone have any insight on being a landlord from afar? we like our current tenants fine but are concerned about being landlords to the whole building from far away. do people usually hire a management company in this situation? how do they charge? anyone to recommend? or would a local relative and a handyman be sufficient? thanks in advance!

lemmy0220

in Real Estate - General 12 years and 6 months ago

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etconstruction | 12 years and 6 months ago

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ET Property Management
Phoneetforyourproperty@gmail.com
Phoneetforyourproperty.com
718 413 0973 Please feel free to contact us and ask all questions that are needed, we can also pay your property a visit if needed. Good luck

Snezan | 12 years and 6 months ago

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Management Company like Brownstone/Awaye/etc..  or if you prefer to do it yourself, hire a good real estate agent you can trust and a qualified super.   Many small buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan are run this way.

brokelin | 12 years and 6 months ago

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As someone who has both rented and owned (though haven’t rented out my owned property, naturally, it being a coop), I would say it depends on what sort of property and tenants you choose.  As a well-educated, responsible tenant, I much prefer not to deal with a management company.  In my experience, landlord hires management company, figures they don’t have to deal with it, and doesn’t.  Management company gets paid the same whether they make repairs or not, acts like it is coming out of their pocket to fix things, treats tenant badly.  Tenant can’t tell if reluctance to make repairs is management company laziness, or cheapness of landlord.  When landlord is not happy that management company has not seen that property is maintained properly, tenant can’t tell if landlord is pretending to be an angel – can’t tell which party it is that really doesn’t want to make repairs – landlord or management company. When tenant deals with landlord directly, even from afar, tenant at least knows who is responsible.  In my experience, out of town landlord relying on handyman is a bad thing…handyman takes advantage of situation.  Landlord of decent property that landlord actually wants maintained is better off either (1) renting to smart, responsible tenants and allowing them to get stuff fixed, with good communication between landlord and tenant; or (2) hiring an agent, as the one above, someone who is trustworthy and treats tenants wtih respect and actually wants to maintain the property in good shape.  As an owner who potentially may rent out my property one day, I’d either manage it myself from afar with good contractors on board, or get smart tenants who I let use their time and basic management expertise to both of our benefit, or hire a trusted individual as my agent.  I’d never hire a management company, given what I’ve seen as a tenant.

primebrooklyn | 12 years and 6 months ago

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I’ve been managing a small  two unit brownstone, double duplex, for an out of town owner for a couple of years now. She gets a local point of contact who picks up the rent checks in person and deposits them, keeps tabs on the building and the tenants and arranges for contractors, plumbers and carpenters to come in and fix things when they need fixing. I charge a small percentage of the rent from my end and she gets piece of mind that everything is handled on her end. If you’re interested in talking with me you can email me info (at) primebrooklyn dot com

argentina | 12 years and 6 months ago

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I think a Management company is a good idea but it also depends on what tasks you need to have “managed”.You can arrange for electronic rent deposits so you don’t need someone to physically collect rent. After that there are just the standard maintenance things such as maintaining the boiler and cleaning the property. IF there is no major work to be done then a handy man is sufficient for that. IF there are foreseeable problems with the property then a management company may be best.  I’d say keep it simple.