Greetings, Mustachians!
As I have mentioned in a previous topic, my parents and I now own a grand total of ten units in two buildings, just a few minutes from one another by car or bike. Things are going okay so far, but we're looking to expand and at the same time avoid having this gig become a full-time job for any one of us.
To that end, we're pretty sure that the route to go is to get a resident manager, aka, a live-in handyman. We're going to have a unit vacant in June that we could "rent" for free to such a person, who would then deal with basic repairs, overseeing subcontracted services, snow removal, mowing, showing vacant units, and things like that. If and when we get more units, the RM would then care for these as well, in exchange for a salary on top of free rent or something.
In our state, "real estate" related activities like collecting rent, listing units, and such things can only be done by property owners or by licensed managers, so we're going to be careful to stay on the up-and-up with respect to that.
I guess my questions to you guys are as follows:
- What should we look for in a resident manager? What responsibilities should a resident manger have? (Currently I'm thinking basic repair and maintenance skills, carpentry, basic plumbing (unclogging drains and the like); his responsibilities would be those mentioned above.)
- How should we find one? (I'm thinking of advertising on Craigslist and using contacts so far)
- Am I right in thinking that a resident manager will be a good part of our real estate team, as an employee?
- What experiences do you have with resident managers?
- Any other comments?
Thanks in advance.
