Property Mgmnt Companies or Myself?

I have two properties which I will be renting soon, is it better to have a Property Management company handle my properties or should I attempt this myself. One property is in Fl and i live in Metro DC area.

Howdy Peachfield:

Long distance management is hard. You should hire it done that far away. Try to make sure they screen the tenants using a service. It is really hard to do evictions and repairs and rent vacant units from miles away. Also get them to visit the property monthly at least to check for trash in the yard, illegally parked cras, and overall conditions. I had a guy in a triplex once that was buying wrecked cars and selling parts from my parking lot. He would just pile up the junk in the back yard. I had another 5 plex where drugs were being sold daily. Things like this need to be caught early to avoid expenses and violations and even property seisure. No fun to deal with especially thousands of miles away.

Howdy friend from Texas!
Thank you for the good advise.
This is new and exciting for me. The house is in a nice neighborhood and it would be a shame to let it go in disaray. I must say, this may be my only long distance rental if it proves to be a hassle. Have a great day and thanks for tanking the time to reply.

Managing properties are no fun and it is best to hire a management company even if the property is only blocks away. You should require monthly reports and you should also screen all renatl applicants in addition to their screening. Always require final approval to watch your income. With a good management company you can purchase as many properties in florida as you wish!