Our family was having financial troubles, quite co...

Our family was having financial troubles, quite common during the recession. Our house was worth less than we owed, so we couldn't even sell it to get out of the mess., we were more than $20,000 upside-down. , We decided to move out of our 3-bedroom house and in with family that had extra space, and not enough income to cover their expenses either.

After shopping around, we hired Access PM Group to rent out our home. They put a sign up while we were cleaning and painting, and wthin a week they found me an excellent tenant that keeps the house cleaner than I did! I have a fenced yard and allow pets (for an added fee), so there was demand for this type of rental. They said they had dozens of showings before selecting a tenant.

Access PM Group takes 50% of the rent for the lease origination/renewal paperwork and legwork, then 10% for each month rented out. For this, they handle all advertising, interviews, leasing paperwork, rent collection (through an online portal), conformance with local/State/Federal leasing laws and even evictions, if it comes to that. Every few years, I am responsible to arrange for the City Inspection, something that is required for all rentals in Wyoming, but they could probably do that as well.

With the 90% we receive, we are able to make our house payment and maintain the property, but not much more. Maybe I should raise the rent every year, to keep up with current market prices, but I'm not good at doing that. In 2035 the house will be paid off, then we will definitely have it as a source of passive income, which we will use to buy another property.

Access PM Group has their own maintenance team to handle emergency calls from the tenant and do small jobs, like changing HVAC filters or troubleshooting other issues. They will even arrange for contractors to come in to do professional repairs, notifying me if the repair is going to exceed $300. All repair costs are taken from the monthly settlements, so it is a "hands off" kind of business for me. I have very little direct contact with the tenant.

My wife and I plan to purchase another property or two before retirement. Property values trend upward, and rent goes up with inflation, so they are a great "Growth and Income" type of investment. We will definitely be calling Access PM Group when we add more properties. For now, we just have the one rental home, but Access PM Group treats us like we are they best and most important client. Thank you Eddie, and thanks to the rest of the staff.

Access PM Group is located in the Boltwood apartments in Allendale, but manage properties throughout the West Michigan area. My home is in Wyoming on 36th Street.