I have a condo-conversion project listed, with 42 units available for sale. There are studios, 1 bedroom and 2 bedrooms units available, priced from $114,900 to $148,900. - Before I get to the point, I'll insert a side not here and thank Rick Garcia for his assistance when I started working with this particular seller. You see, the seller lives and works in south Florida and kept bringing up methods of doing business there. Knowing I had seen quite a few condos listed on their Miamism and Active Rain blogs, I gave Rick and Inez Garcia a call. Inez was out in the field so Rick
graciously answered all my rambling questions. Thanks Rick!
Now to get to the point of this post. With the Daytona Beach area's real estate sales becoming increasingly more slow, my seller decided he would rent or sell the units in Surfside Villas. Now Adams Cameron & Company does not do any property management, and the local property management companies I called did not even want anymore properties in their inventory. It seems the rental market, especially for beachside condos, is just as slow as the real estate market. But my seller decided he didn't need property management. He just needed someone to actually rent out the units. So with my brokers permission, I said I'd give it a shot.
We agreed on a commission (a percentage of the lease) for me to have potential tenants fill out the personal information documents, applications and background check authorization, and collect their deposits. My seller is preparing the actual leases. So the week before last, I took my first rental application, collected their money and now have to move our sales office. (I rented out my office. D'oh!) I was off to a great start!
And then the flakes started calling *sigh*. Since it's about a 20 minute drive from Port Orange, where I live and where my office is, to the condos located on the beachside/peninsula in Daytona Beach, I scheduled 3 appointments at 30 minute intervals so I wouldn't have to drive back and forth. Of my 3 appointments, only 1 showed up. I just spoke with all of them yesterday! Thank God I didn't have to drive back and forth 3 times!
Thankfully the one that did show up is very interested, has a steady job, was very nice, and looks like a quality tenant. But a word to the wise, be glad you work with real estate buyers instead of renters! So far, this whole rental adventure has shown me a much flakier clientel than I'm accustomed to. I can't imagine being in property management! Oh wait. Yes I can. I'm subscribed to Rich Kruse. I'm particularly fond of his post called Tenant Did What? or how about Robbed and Kidnapped at Gunpoint.
I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings...
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