The Property Manager

The Property Manager for an absentee landlord is the most important member of the Team. They are responsible for finding and vetting tenants, collecting deposits and rents, inspection and commissioning of repairs and manager of regular maintenance. In addition they account for their actions on a regular basis.
It is vital that they have a good working relationship with the Housing Authorities and Social Workers as many of the tenants have their rent totally subsidised by the public purse.
You need to be able to trust your Property Manager as they will oft times have to carry out emergency repairs without providing an estimate first.
There are a number of instances where the Landlord can be in breach of local ordinances. For example, you can be fined if the grass in the garden is too long, if the garbage tote is left out on the side-walk too long, if garbage or litter is on your front, if cars are abandoned(left untended for a few days) etc.! As the violations are posted to you which obviously takes time, the fine can easily double while the violation is in the post. A good manager manages to get these bills reduced or withdrawn.
It is for this reason that many managers recommend lawn trimming at least once a week.
When the Manager submits his monthly or quarterly accounts he will charge a fee of 10% on the gross rental income and the first months rent for finding a tenant. At the end of the period he will deposit any surplus in your bank account or request you send a check to cover the shortfall.