One of the best investments that can yield excellent returns over time is owning rental property.  As a team of real estate and home rental experts, we’d like to preface this with the typical real estate motto: location, location, location.  WHERE the rental property matters.  If you’ve decided to own a single-family rental home in North Texas, you’ve made a wise decision!

And if you have decided to move out of your North Texas neighborhood house to rent it for extra income, we say congratulations!  Receiving a monthly check each month can help improve a person’s quality of life and supplement those retirement dreams.  Of course, if it was easy, everyone would own rental property.  The challenge with owning a house for rent in neighborhoods like Frisco, McKinney, or Allen, Texas, is they need consistent care and attention.  The three significant areas to focus on for successful property management are: 

1. The Property – maintenance, upgrades and repairs
2. Tenants – Interviews, frequent check-ins, and answering their calls
3. Financials – Maintaining the weekly and monthly bookkeeping duties for a clean balance sheet and a smooth tax return season. 

Since it’s only three things, it seems straightforward, right? Maybe it appear that way when we do it.  As a top local property management team in North Texas that handles single-family home rentals, it’s our job to make this work look easy.  But if you decide to DIY the efforts, please weigh the rental property pros and cons first.  There is a considerable commitment of personal time to ensure a rental remains in good shape and produces income.  

Owners Weigh the Rental Property Pros and Cons in Frisco, Texas

To figure out which direction to go, here are a few points to consider before making a choice. 

The pros of managing a rental property on your own –

• You are in charge.  For those who take pride in completely controlling their investments, being a landlord may not be a problem.  You might be fine doing the home inspections, financials, and tenant interviews.  Many landlords have a background in property management, so they understand what to expect. 
• A local already knows who to call for help.  If you are a long-time North Texas local, you’ve built connections with local businesses.  When there’s a home rental repair, your phone list already has the best plumber, window replacement, or handyman is already to answer. 
• You’re not worried about interruptions.  Some DIY landlords are fine with weekend or late-night calls from tenants.  Their retirement plans involved remaining nearby and keeping a management schedule flexible. 

If you are comfortable with the day-to-day unpredictability of handling a rental home, welcome to the landlord world!  If some pros concern you, consider the cons to confirm which direction is best for you. 

The cons of individual property management

• Time matters.  You have plans for your time and can’t be interrupted by routine rental emergencies like backed-up plumbing or a leaking roof (but if you want to keep a good renter, you’ll have to act fast to fix their problem). 
• Preference to remain anonymous to renters.  The saying “familiarity breeds contempt” is essential here. Some tenants can try to exploit their relationship with the property owner.  They might try to play on someone’s sympathies or assume the owners can afford to pay for extra amenities in the home.  They might ask to pay the rent a week late or bring a pet onto the property when the lease specifically states “no pets.” 
• Rental scams.  After an interview, the tenant seems like they are a good fit, and there is no need to do a full background check and you move forward with a deposit.  But wait, their cashier’s check didn’t clear.  Or you’ve come to check the empty home and find squatters!  Since Texas doesn’t have specific laws about removing them from your rental, you’ll have to go through the legal eviction process.

Rental property pros and cons are the same for Frisco, TX, Allen, McKinney, and other North Texas towns.  And we’ve experienced them all.  We are familiar with tenant needs and help them be their best before, during, and after renting a home.  In fact, we provide helpful resources like this “move out checklist” for tenants working to get their cleaning deposit returned (https://www.ntxpm.com/move-out-cleaning-checklist/).

If you are okay with managing a home rental, we solute you! But if this seems like too much for your schedule, give us a call. We love managing single-family homes and will handle the “cons” while you enjoy the “pros”…like extra income each month!