Roofstock Property Purchase Day 5: Getting a Property Manager

Roofstock has several recommendations for Property Managers that cover the area for my property.  They list these for each property:

They also provide a more detailed breakdown on their rates at the bottom of the property page:

One thing to note is that Roofstock's expense estimate for property management does not seem to take into account the numbers they provide for their listed PM's.  I'm guessing they have some average that they apply since each property could have different coverage, but I made sure to add in proper expenses for property management.  Also, because my property is a duplex, I'd have 2 units worth of expenses. 

I interviewed each of the PM's and researched their reviews on on the web.  Marketplace Homes had the best prices, and during my call with Mike Tamulevich, it was clear that they knew what they were doing and would provide an affordable but professional service.  Mike had good answers to all of my questions, and also provided insights that I had not known before.  

Their costs:

• $70/month per unit
• 1 month rent leasing fee per unit
• ~$2480/year, $1680 for any year afterwards that tenants simply renew their lease

I also found out that Marketplace Homes:

• generally places tenants within 10-20 days in the area of purchase
• takes a much more sophisticated approach to selling/showing the property.  They use professional photography and digitally furnish the apartment so that potential tenants can see it how it will look furnished, which helps a ton in terms of getting viewings.  
• were willing to give me a discounted rate since I have a duplex
• have an eviction coverage for any tenant that they place at no cost to me.  
• have an insanely high ~98% retention rate, so they are good at choosing tenants.  
• also covers most of the eastern side of the US, so that I can use them in other states and be able to get economies of scale working with them.

Mike has been awesome. In addition to helping me out with this property, he has also been a sounding board for other properties, giving me the low down on the areas and rent reports. I will try to use Marketplace on any future purchases (many Roofstock purchases are within their domain).