Rent property on your own or use a rental co.?

[panteno]

I purchased a mobile home for a rental property & need some advise as to wheather it would be better to rent it on my own or use a property management co.It is 50 miles away . has anyone has any experiences w/ rental co. I have a realestate agent that has 27 houses of his own & he offered to rent it for 10% commission . He said he sees that the rent is paid & if not have them evicted as soon as possible.. would you give someone complete control of your property? I have insurance that would cover any damages that a tennat would do.The rent would be $500.00 a month.

[sebastiano53]

I use a rental agenct and I pay 7%. I like them because they are a lot more threatning then I am. It is easier for then to keep it rented. They are very reasonable with little repairs. I think that by using them I make more money. I would not use a friend, they are not as experienced as a rental agency, unless your friend is a rental agency. An agency is also licenced and insured. You cant really sue your friend and expect things to come out good.

[norwyn]

Standard in the rental company business is one months rent and for that they show the property and do back ground checks on the tenants, credit, criminal record, employment and past landlord. I would suggest this at the least unless you want to drive the 100 mile round trip every time a prospective tenant wants to see the place. One months rent is 8.33%, if another 1.7% this guy handles evictions it might be worth your while. He can't "see" to it that rent is paid unless he guarantees to pay it, either the tenant pays it or doesn't and if they don't you have to evict them. If they do pay it they should be paying it directly to you, no need for a middle man.