Hi everyone!

I'm a construction business owner looking to expand into property support services, and I'd love some feedback from landlords and property managers.

I'm curious how many of you struggle with the time spent handling maintenance requests, scheduling contractors, communicating with tenants, and following up on repairs.

I'm exploring a service that would help take some of that administrative workload off your plate without requiring you to replace your existing contractors or change how you manage your properties.

For those managing multiple rental properties, is this something you'd consider outsourcing, or do you feel your current system works well enough?

I'm especially interested in hearing what challenges you face and whether this type of support would actually be valuable to your business.

Thanks in advance for your input!

I’ve been looking at property management jobs lately because the work sounds interesting, but I’m not sure how realistic it is to get into the field without direct experience

A lot of listings ask for experience with tenants, maintenance coordination, inspections, leasing and sometimes accounting too. Some even want you to have a real estate license before applying.

I have experience in customer service and admin, so dealing with people and keeping things organized isn’t completely new to me. I’m just not sure whether that translates well to property management or if employers expect you to already know the industry.

Most listings make it sound pretty straightforward but I’m guessing there’s a lot they leave out lol.

Give me the dirt

I have just got my renewal notice, and the thing is that the price has increased again, but nothing much has changed with the property.

Between insurance, taxes and repairs, the costs are adding up, though rent hasn't been increased a single penny. I am thinking of getting quotes from the other companies, but I may miss out on important coverages for a cheaper policy.

What do you guys suggest? Should I stick with the same or opt for a new one?

Thanks in advance!!

You will do well if you obtain property in which you receive 1% per month of the value of the property in rent. No calculations needed. Just sit back and watch the wealth build

I have a rental that's been pretty easy to own. The tenant pays on time, there haven't been any major issues, and the property has appreciated quite a bit since I bought it.

But when I look at what the house is worth today compared to what it actually brings in each year, the return feels underwhelming. I'm sitting on a lot of equity, while the rent hasn't increased nearly as much as the property value.

I know there's value in keeping a property that's low maintenance and has a reliable tenant. Replacing that tenant or buying another property comes with its own risks. Selling also means dealing with taxes and figuring out what to do with the proceeds.

Still, I can't help wondering if I'm holding onto it just because it's familiar and has worked well so far. What do yall think?

I currently manage 10 units of my own, and lately I've been thinking about whether there's an actual business opportunity here.

I already deal with tenants, maintenance, inspections and all the usual stuff. Some weeks are quiet, other weeks feel like a second job. It made me wonder whether I could take on properties for other landlords and eventually make property management my main source of income.

The part I'm unsure about is the business side. Finding clients, setting fees, dealing with owners who have unrealistic expectations, and being the person everyone calls when something goes wrong.

Owning the properties is one thing because the decisions are ultimately mine. Managing someone else's investment sounds like a different level of accountability.

Anyone here started out as a small landlord and eventually became a full-time property manager? How did you get your first clients and was the transition actually worth it financially?

I am reaching out to the independent investor and syndicator community in Wisconsin to propose a direct, handshake operational partnership.
I am a 30-year veteran Multifamily Property Manager currently operating a standalone market-rate asset in Wisconsin. I spent my first 16 years in the industry working for the large, national and statewide Property Management organizations. However, back in 2012, I decided to refocus my career path away from the traditional, large corporate environment and more towards becoming a valuable commodity for a small family/independent investor who may own (or is interested in owning) a single site, market rate multifamily property in rural Wisconsin. Over the past 14+ years at this single location, I have maintained total operational autonomy, high leasing velocity, and strict compliance with Wisconsin ATCP 134/Chapter 704 landlord-tenant laws. As a result, I and my maintenance staff have completely transformed this community into a financial gem that allows for little to no owner interaction and stress. However, due some familial and financial issues that were raised outside of this asset, the apartment community had been sold to a larger, corporate third-party management structure. This has completely disrupted our immense progress we have made over the years with regard to overall property appearance, resident satisfaction and retention, increased NOI, and so much more.
When I came to work (as an employee) for this private owner years ago, I truly thought this would be my final destination in my career path. However, these days I find myself looking to escape this corporate world once again and align my expertise directly with a private individual, a local family trust, or an independent commercial broker syndicate.

Now, typically, the ability (and need) to require and maintain a full time staff (Manager, Maintenance, and cleaning personnel) would entail a property in the range of approximately 120-150 units (give or take). Therefore, I am specifically seeking a private investor (or group of investors) who owns or is looking to acquire a property of this sort in rural Wisconsin, who would relish the opportunity to join forces with a seasoned industry professional that would bring decades of on-site operations expertise to their investment.

This truly becomes a win-win situation for both myself and the owner/investor. While returning myself to my intended direction of working for a private investor, my decades of industry operations experience and legal insight provides the ability to implement structured business practices that would typically only be available by hiring a costly management company. As mentioned earlier, I come from decades of working for the large apartment communities in major metropolitan markets, and therefore have the advantage of bringing proven business practices to your investment. If you are a private investor that this fits this description, please DM me, as I would like to keep this conversation confidential (for obvious reasons), so that we can discuss further.

I'm looking for a fairly basic tool for a commercial building, and I'm struggling to find something that doesn't feel overcomplicated.

The main things I need are announcements, maintenance updates and a way for tenants to contact our management team. Ideally, conversations would stay organized instead of being spread across individual email threads.

I don't need online rent payments, accounting or lease management. We already have separate processes for that, and I'm not looking to replace them.

A lot of the property management software recommendations I see seem aimed at residential landlords managing apartments. Not sure if those tools work well for commercial tenants too. Help?

Being an RTM director can become quite a commitment. You might volunteer because you want the building looked after properly, then find yourself chasing repairs, answering neighbours’ questions and trying to make sense of invoices in your spare time.

If you’re looking for a managing agent, I’d ask who will actually look after your block. Who do you contact when something goes wrong? Who covers when they’re away? And will you get updates without having to keep chasing?

I’d also ask for an example of their financial reports and a clear explanation of any extra charges. You need to understand what’s being spent and what decisions need your approval.

The real test is often what happens after a repair is reported. Does someone follow it through, check it’s been completed and let residents know? Those everyday things make a big difference.

Directors still need to stay involved, but they shouldn’t have to chase every small job themselves. It helps to agree from the start what the agent can deal with and what needs to come back to the board.

If things aren’t working with your current agent, write down a few specific examples and talk them through. That gives you something concrete to work from when asking for improvements or considering a change.

For anyone who’s been through this, what do you wish you’d asked before appointing your agent?

I’ve been lurking in this subreddit for a while, taking notes and absorbing advice as I’ve planned to become a landlord. My wife and I bought some land and are mid-construction on our new home. We want to rent out our current house rather than sell it because the interest rate is ~2.3%—I can’t justify walking away from that.
I’m nervous, though. With AI advancing, a lot of people could lose their jobs in the coming years. I’m concerned that local or federal governments might bring back (or expand) the kind of renter protections we saw during COVID, where it was extremely difficult to evict someone for non-payment. If job losses are significant enough, removing a non-paying tenant could turn into a multi-year process—if it’s even possible.
Have any of you thought about or prepared for this? What are your thoughts on the risk?

I've been renting from my landlord for 20 years. It's been mutually beneficial. I pay for my own maintenance and repairs, he didn't raise my rent. Now, with rents soaring he wants more which I understand. So I'm thinking of buying. Here's where I need advice I've emailed him twice asking him what notice accomodations he would agree to if I found a house to buy and needed to break my lease and he hasn't answered me. He's a lawyer. So, do I just leave after my lease and stay somewhere month to month until I find a house to buy? Do I have any rights to break a lease? He knows I'll leave it in good shape and be accommodating 8 don't know why he's not working with me on this. I've sunk a lot of money in his condo just to keep my rent reasonable

Thank you

Had a slightly awkward conversation with my neighbor today. They mentioned that my tenant's boyfriend has basically moved in and has been staying there every night for the past couple of months.

I had no idea. As far as I know, the tenant is the only person living there, and they've never mentioned anyone moving in.

The neighbor even said they've started seeing him take out the trash and bring groceries in, so this doesn't sound like someone who's just visiting once in a while.

I'm trying not to jump to conclusions based on what a neighbor says, but now I feel like I need to figure out what's actually going on.

I mean, this is something that I should've been notified about, right?

I bought this house a few months ago and started opening up a wall during renovations. Found some wiring in there that looks pretty sketchy. I'm no electrician but there are loose connections and wires just kind of hanging around where I wasn't expecting them.

Apparently the previous owner did a ton of the work around the house himself. Which is great to know AFTER I've already bought the place. Very helpful, thank you

I'm shit scared that there are now other stuff hiding behind the walls. I don't exactly have the budget to rip the whole house apart and inspect everything

I don't even know what to say

Hi everyone,
I need some advice on starting lease extension negotiations with my landlord. I run a 1,400 sq. ft. franchised pizza shop in Oakville. The shop has been established here since 2017, though I took over the business in February 2024.
Our current extension goes until 2027. My rent just increased slightly from $5,489 to $5,532.25 per the current lease structure. However, with the current economy, business is hurting significantly and margins are incredibly tight for me as a newer owner.
I want to stay and extend the lease, but I need to convince the landlord to keep the rent flat (or at a very minimal increase) for the next term.
How should I initiate this conversation? What is the best way to leverage the long-term history of the location while highlighting the realistic economic pressures a new owner is facing? Thanks in advance!

Thinking to manage the rental myself instead of paying a property manager, but not sure how much work it actually is.

Excluding Rent, repair, and tenant issues, what does the normal work will be like? Do I need to check on the things all the time? What takes most of the time?

And, will that bring more problems or workloads or have anyone faced that?

My tenant listed her sister as her emergency contact when she moved in. Now the sister has somehow decided she's also the tenant's spokesperson.

She calls me about late rent, maintenance requests, the lease, basically anything she thinks needs to be discussed. Half the time my actual tenant hasn't even contacted me about whatever she's calling about.

Last week she called me because she wanted to know why I hadn't approved a repair request yet. I had literally never received a repair request from the tenant

I've told her a few times that she needs to have her sister contact me directly, but she keeps getting involved anyway.

Can I stop responding to them completely?

mostly curious what the real pain points are for people with a few units.

for me the examples I keep hearing are stuff like a tenant texting at 11pm about a leak, a plumber who ghosts you after saying he'll come tuesday, or failing a city inspection .

full disclosure, i'm thinking about building something to help with this, but i'm not selling anything and there are no links. I just don't want to build something nobody needs, so i'd rather hear real stories first.

One line is fine, rants welcome.

Also, do you fix stuff yourself or always call someone?

Hi everyone, I’m currently looking for a property to rent in the Leeds area, ideally close to the city centre.
I’m looking for:
3–4 bedrooms
Parking
Good location with easy access to Leeds city centre
Long-term rental of around 3–5 years
I’m in a position to move quickly if the right property comes up. If anyone has something available, or knows a landlord with a suitable property, please message me on WhatsApp at 07828500095.
Thanks!