Management company

[soozie58]

I recently purchased a cottage in Old Florida Village. I am interested in renting it via my own contacts and the internet. Does anyone know of a company that I can contract that will just do management ie: cleaning, maintenance, checking the place out, but no rentals. Help!!! I am new to this!!!

[Just_In_Thyme]

We use Beach Rentals of South Walton and they have been pretty good to work with. I book the majority of the rentals myself.

[Philip_Atlanta]

Beach Rentals of South Walton will do this for you; however, I just had an absolutely horrible experience with them. Long story, which I won't get into as I'm considering pursuing criminal actions with them - but on my experience I severed my contract with them and won't recommend them to anyone. Check out their BBB record if you want an unbiased opinion. I can tell you its NOT good.

I'd recommend that you at least explore doing this without a management company. There is a thread on here that lists several quality cleaning companies (that will be your hard part) and there is a company here that will check on your house for you and also be the goto person for maintenance issues for a small fee, Sunburst if I remember right.

Marketing wise, get a website up and advertise on vrbo.com. That will get you started.

FYI I found this book quite effective --

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0974824909/qid=1120616663/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/002-9371032-4024014?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[ShallowsNole]

I would recommend Christine Karpinski's book as well - she owns a condo in Miramar Beach and lives in the Atlanta area. She can also be contacted via http://www.howtorentbyowner.com/ (no, I don't get a kickback)!

However, I do work with collection of the bed tax / sales tax, which you will need to do if you manage your own rentals. Don't worry; it is not as daunting as it sounds. Our web site is http://clerkofcourts.co.walton.fl.us/default.aspx?id=40.

Good luck!

[lollygal]

I recently purchased a cottage in Old Florida Village. I am interested in renting it via my own contacts and the internet. Does anyone know of a company that I can contract that will just do management ie: cleaning, maintenance, checking the place out, but no rentals. Help!!! I am new to this!!!

I used Beach Rentals of South Walton for the first year that we owned a house down there. I was very disappointed in their service. It seemed I was making all the rentals and paying them $$$ to hand out a key. I had Kurt do a virtual tour of the property and pictures, set up a listing on vrbo.com and was in business. I obtained a rental agreement from another friend, got set up to accept credit cards and found a cleaning service. Then, I needed someone to check on the property after renters left, or during off season. I found a wonderful property manager who would make weekly inspections and put out keys for me and be on call for any maintenance issue, etc. BUT, he just moved!! He has passed his business on to Charles and Cindy Wilson. I have just started working with them, but my previous manager was VERY picky, so I feel that they will do a wonderful job since he recommended. If you would like any more info, or telephone #s, send me an email. I'd be happy to help. :D

[Carter]

This is a great and helpful thread.

Can I ask what percentage Beach Rentals of SoWal charges for this 'basic' service (i.e where owner finds renters and they simply clean/check up, etc).

Also, for more typical full blown mgt, can I ask what are people paying for full mgt with various different agencies? For the record, I have a gulf front rental in TX and pay 25% in peak season plus expenses (and 20% +exp off peak). With expenses this is averaging about 30% or so.

[Carter]

Regarding Beach Rentals 's of SW, I *almost* used them for a recent "Gulf Front" rental on 30-A. The staff was very nice and professional. However, the property was *not* as advertised and I was extremely fortunate enough to have another unbiased member of this board who was familiar with the property tell me the real deal - that it was in shabby condition/not the gulf front we expected, etc. (THANK YOU again, you know who you are, and you had a huge positive impact on our recent family vacation). We had this BRofSW property resereved and were about to send in the deposit but for this 411. (And for the record, this person had nothing to gain with the info shared with me).

We found another great truly gulf front property in Dune Allen through an alternate agency, but, while we were there, I stopped by that BRofSW property that we had almost rented and it was NOT as advertised for sure. It was a shambles, was NOT gulf front as advertised and was in a not so great location (if there is such a thing in SoWal!).

[Landlocked]

Carter,

Were you on loon lake drive?

[lollygal]

Can I ask what percentage Beach Rentals of SoWal charges for this 'basic' service (i.e where owner finds renters and they simply clean/check up, etc).

Also, for more typical full blown mgt, can I ask what are people paying for full mgt with various different agencies? For the record, I have a gulf front rental in TX and pay 25% in peak season plus expenses (and 20% +exp off peak). With expenses this is averaging about 30% or so.

Beach Rentals of SoWal offered me a "first year" deal wherein I paid 20% management fee if they rented it; 10% if I rented it and handled the money. I know there are some agencies in the area that charge 30%.

[Paula]

We use Beach Rentals of South Walton for our rentals and have been happy overall with their service so far. We live quite far up north, so we have to have someone a few miles away to check on our cottages and I felt a larger business would have more resources. Overall, we've been happy with their cleaning (we used a different agency before and the cleaning was significantly inferior), their repairs (they're proactive in identifying and responding to repairs), their treatment of customers, and their monthly statements/follow-up. For example, I found a $5.00 charge on my monthly Sprint telephone bill from a renter who took a collect call using our rental phone. I called BRSW and they took care of it immediately (charged it to the renter) and I had the $5.00 back on my next monthly statement. A very small concern, but it did suggest their record keeping and follow-up was good. As for getting rentals, I can't say because I advertise our properties on my own as well, and I think the majority of rentals come from my advertising. But I do know that I don't get all of my rentals from my own advertising, so it has been an advantage having BRSW (I have several rentals this fall that I don't believe I got through my advertising, so I'm happy for that since fall tends to be slower).

As for how well they describe different properties to renters, I haven't had any complaints at all saying that our properties were advertised in a misleading way at all, although we do keep them in top shape and they're in a great community so there's probably nothing to complain about.

In short, I'm happy with Beach Rentals of South Walton. They charge 20% for bookings that they get through their advertising and 17 or 18% for bookings I bring in. So far, I feel I've gotten my money's worth and I've had peace of mind while I'm far away (especially having seen a few of the repairs they've made without my having to follow-up - for example, my dining room table was getting wobbly and they fixed the legs on the table before there was a more serious problem -- I thought that was very proactive.).

Hope this is helpful.

[Bob]

Since I can find nothing good to say about Beach Rentals of South Walton, I will refrain from negativity. Have always had good luck w/ Rivard.

[Carter]

LL- We may have crossed paths that same 18th-25th week LL, but based on a previous post you were proibably already back 'home' with the days catch when I was just waking up...

We were right on 30-A directly across from the shops/gossip coffee shop in dune allen in a property called INN-Spire-D (Rivard). Awesome 6BR gulf front property - although rumor is that it just sold to someone who will take out of rental pool.

I can't say I was thrilled with Rivard mgt either (maybe I'll try dune allen realty next time?), although some of Rivards staff are great and the property, if anything was even better than they advertised.

[Landlocked]

Well thats good news. I'm glad y'all had a good time. I know we did!

[Rita]

"We were right on 30-A directly across from the shops/gossip coffee shop in dune allen in a property called INN-Spire-D (Rivard)."


Carter

How was the beach in that area?

[Carter]

"We were right on 30-A directly across from the shops/gossip coffee shop in dune allen in a property called INN-Spire-D (Rivard)."


Carter

How was the beach in that area?

All things considered it was in pretty good shape. I just posetd pic in sowal general gallery taken from deck of the rental house there on June 24:

http://www.sowal.com/bb/gallery/showimage.php?i=487

[Rita]

Thank you Carter. That pic is on my desktop for a while. :biggrin:

[Rather B. Paddlin]

I have used several rental/management agencies in the area. I have never used Rivard, but neighbors have had moderately good things to says about them. We contract everything out on our own now after the misery of working with some of the agencies listed as well as another not mentioned. After you get past the "Hi ye'all we'ill take care of your house as if it was our own now", the following is what to expect from these agencies.

Very little effort in booking. Call an agency sometime and try to book your own house as a naive renter. You will be shocked.

Guests sometimes have to wait several hours after the promised check in time to get the keys to the house because of the long lines at the agencies or the house is not cleaned until late in the evening on check in day. This happens to 75% of the prime season check ins.

Not being able to find the keys to the house when guests check in.Yes this actually happened. Long story - but a locksmith had to be called, the guest figured out how to get into the house with out a key.

Terrible cleaning services including beds missing sheets or sheets not changed on beds.

Charging for work not performed such as changing a/c filters and light bulbs.

Leaving the the owners storage area unlocked for guests to access.

Not boarding the house during hurricane prep. After the fact, an a agency manager actually told me that they were a rental agency not a property management agency. Hmmm thats reassuring.


You get the point. I have many more instances of poor effort and a poor job done. Its the rule , not the exception.

There is good news!!!!!

There are a lot of good people in the area who will provide services needed and do a great job. Do yourself a favor, go down to the area for several days do some research, then interview the service companies of interest. Ultimately, You will end up with less stress.

[Camp Creek Kid]

We have a couple of houses with Southern Resorts and they are doing a very good job. Had a terrible experience with Rivard and have heard very bad things about Beach Rentals.

Southern Resorts does little things that other agencies don't. For instance, they pick up the garbage on check-out day so the new guests have empty garbage cans. Most other agencies don't do this and as a result, the garbage cans are overflowing with other peoples' garbage, which is rather disgusting.

[kurt]

Let's keep hearsay out of it. Firsthand only - good or bad.

I hear a LOT of info - good and bad, but mostly it seems the bad is the cost of doing business. When people ask me who to use I tell them to go to several places and do their homework.

http://sowal.com/rental-agencies.html

BTW - I hear more bad stories about owners and renters and subs than I do about rental agents. In this crazy market you might want to take what you hear with a grain of salt. Competition has gotten fierce and so has the workload.

I tell everyone, whether you rent yourself or through an agent, you have to do some marketing on your own. Here's a page with some tips:
http://www.mooncreek.com/rentals.html

[tynanr]

We currently use Dune Allen Realty and they have worked well for us. The house is in Dune Allen which may help the situation. Overall, they booked the house this season and follow through on the basics. Doesnt sound like a big deal but I can say from first hand experience that this doesnt always happen. We started with Beach Rentals of South Walton and received the worst service I have experienced in my personal life and professional career. They basically were incapable of even returning a phone call let alone the more difficult actions of booking the house and, believe it or not, charging customers for the stay. The differences are basic but can be staggering.

[Paula]

Beach Rentals of South Walton has been very fine for us in the past 1.5 year we've used them. We were with another agency before them, and while the agency was nice to work with, we just couldn't get them to clean our cottages well (we'd find old toast under the couches). Other people referred us to Beach Rentals and we've been happy, especially with the quality of the cleaning and maintenance which is very important to guests.

[Rather B. Paddlin]

We currently use Dune Allen Realty and they have worked well for us. The house is in Dune Allen which may help the situation. Overall, they booked the house this season and follow through on the basics. Doesnt sound like a big deal but I can say from first hand experience that this doesnt always happen. We started with Beach Rentals of South Walton and received the worst service I have experienced in my personal life and professional career. They basically were incapable of even returning a phone call let alone the more difficult actions of booking the house and, believe it or not, charging customers for the stay. The differences are basic but can be staggering.


BROSW - join the "former" club

Dune Allen - some nicest people you will work with, ok service.....


You are right on target.

[sunsetdunes]

I recently purchased a cottage in Old Florida Village. I am interested in renting it via my own contacts and the internet. Does anyone know of a company that I can contract that will just do management ie: cleaning, maintenance, checking the place out, but no rentals. Help!!! I am new to this!!!

Check with Al Bruni at Dolphin Developers Abruni11@aol.com

[sunsetdunes]

As my mother used to say, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. What I can say to renters and owners, that IS nice, is many owners do a much better job than rental management companies all by themselves, (after they learn the ropes.)

I recommend finding owner rentals from sites such as vrbo.com, vacationrentals.com, and cyberrentals.com

Janet


Regarding Beach Rentals 's of SW, I *almost* used them for a recent "Gulf Front" rental on 30-A. The staff was very nice and professional. However, the property was *not* as advertised and I was extremely fortunate enough to have another unbiased member of this board who was familiar with the property tell me the real deal - that it was in shabby condition/not the gulf front we expected, etc. (THANK YOU again, you know who you are, and you had a huge positive impact on our recent family vacation). We had this BRofSW property resereved and were about to send in the deposit but for this 411. (And for the record, this person had nothing to gain with the info shared with me).

We found another great truly gulf front property in Dune Allen through an alternate agency, but, while we were there, I stopped by that BRofSW property that we had almost rented and it was NOT as advertised for sure. It was a shambles, was NOT gulf front as advertised and was in a not so great location (if there is such a thing in SoWal!).

[TooFarTampa]

Question: If you try to do this on your own, how do you get the keys to the renter, especially in a "quick turn" situation? Do you use a lockbox? What if the renters "forget" to leave them in the lockbox, or something happens? How would you then get the next people a set of keys in just a few hours?

What other things can "come up" if you try to do this without a management company? I can certainly handle details, but I want to be able to deal with emergencies too.

[Kim Smith]

Question: If you try to do this on your own, how do you get the keys to the renter, especially in a "quick turn" situation? Do you use a lockbox? What if the renters "forget" to leave them in the lockbox, or something happens? How would you then get the next people a set of keys in just a few hours?

What other things can "come up" if you try to do this without a management company? I can certainly handle details, but I want to be able to deal with emergencies too.


A lockbox is the best way. I have 2, one at the front door and one at the side door in case that happens. Always leave extra sets for your renters inside your home and if one is missing then you charge them the typically $10.00 rate that mangement companies do. I do 99% of my own bookings and I have a great cleaning company that also handles my maintenance.

[Smiling JOe]

Question: If you try to do this on your own, how do you get the keys to the renter, especially in a "quick turn" situation? Do you use a lockbox? What if the renters "forget" to leave them in the lockbox, or something happens? How would you then get the next people a set of keys in just a few hours?

What other things can "come up" if you try to do this without a management company? I can certainly handle details, but I want to be able to deal with emergencies too.

You can also install keyless combination door locks. That way, you can change the combination on a regular basis for security, and never need a key again. I am not sure about the costs, but I am sure they are worth it.

Just talked to a lady yesterday who had suprised her housekeepers by showing up to check on them. She states that they had not cleaned to her liking. She fired them. Question - Who will be checking to ensure that your house is ready for the new renters each time?

[Philip_Atlanta]

Question: If you try to do this on your own, how do you get the keys to the renter, especially in a "quick turn" situation? Do you use a lockbox? What if the renters "forget" to leave them in the lockbox, or something happens? How would you then get the next people a set of keys in just a few hours?

What other things can "come up" if you try to do this without a management company? I can certainly handle details, but I want to be able to deal with emergencies too.

Call me paranoid, but I have two lockboxes. One I tell the renters about, but just in case, the key IS missing I have a 2nd lockbox I can tell them about. In addition, I attach the key to the lockbox itself (the part that comes out) and instruct them to just use that key to gain entry to the house upon arrival. Once in, I typically have 2 or 3 sets of keys for them to use while they are here.

Hasn't failed me yet! **knocking on wood..

[TooFarTampa]

Just talked to a lady yesterday who had suprised her housekeepers by showing up to check on them. She states that they had not cleaned to her liking. She fired them. Question - Who will be checking to ensure that your house is ready for the new renters each time?

That's the big sticking point. I have such a hard time with paying someone 20-percent plus just to do this for us, since we get 90 percent of our rentals through vrbo anyway. Paperwork, keys and communication, billing, etc I can handle. The problem is being 6 hours away. Anyway, we will soon part ways with our current company and are looking at our alternatives.

I am so detail oriented, it would be a shame not to at least consider going it alone.

[kurt]

I found a key with a rental co. tag on it on the beach during cleanup last week. It was old and very corroded and I am going to return it if they will refund to whoever got charged for it. ;-)

[pattiw]

question for owners that use resortquest at dunes of seagrove - have you been satisfied? we use another company and are not impressed. only booked 2 weeks for the summer, we booked the rest. have had some recent complaints from rentors on a few issues as well - things overlooked that should have been checked but weren't before new rentors came in - no sheets for sleeper sofa, no toilet paper, etc. also have had some theft that went unnoticed until a guest brought it to my attention. any recommendations or personal experiences with resortquest (or others) would be appreciated. new to this...

[Shutters]

I was with Beach Rentals of South Walton for two years and they drove me nuts. I would NOT recommend them. Last fall I switched to Royal Beach Resorts and couldn't be happier. Denise and Mark are great! I like having a local manager even though most weeks I'm paying them a percentage just to hand out the key. I have an independant cleaning service and use my own handy man for some repairs, theirs for others. I just think your business is a lot more professional with some local management, and your guests will feel they are well looked after.

Getting the bookings on your own is easy. VRBO, GulfCoastRentals, Rent101 are all pretty good and search well in all the engines. Having your own web site is even better. No limit on the number of pictures, plus you can add tons more information and not have to answer the same questions over and over. Kurt at Mooncreek.com will do a very nice stock site. I've been doing some customized sites myself. Please check out,
www.shuttersbythesea.com

The best part of booking the guests yourself is the personal relationship you create. They are YOUR clients not a large management companies and they will take much better care of your house because you have that relationship. Also, talking with them over the phone you can usually weed out the problem rentals.

The book that is recommended earlier in the thread is a good resource.
Although it pooh poohs having a local management company.
Finally, you make more money, but of course there's more work too.
There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not answerring an email, or taking a phone call, or sending back a security deposit, or charging a credit card, etc. etc. But the reward is knowing the next time you come down to your house everything will be in top shape, no surprises.

Good luck and welcome to the rental business!

Shutters