20-Year Self Manager Wishes He Hired a Property Manager Years Ago – Poplar Homes Review

Mark Cabral began his real estate portfolio in 1992 with a single property in San Jose, California. For Mark and his partner, real estate was a way to ensure long-term financial security, a familiar motive for many self-managers. With the help of his partner, Mark lived out his self-management role, ready at any moment’s notice if something went wrong. The two were the pair to, literally, fix it. Mark Cabral dives deeper in his Poplar Homes review.

Challenge

Because of his extensive experience in the business, Mark never considered using a property management service. However, the constant worry of something going wrong at his property grew as he looked to spend more time outside of real estate. Vacations out of the country or even a weekend getaway had become hard to do with this constant worry. Mark needed the peace of mind that his property would be taken care of without him being physically present.

On one occasion, after enjoying a two-week vacation out of town, Mark came home to a message on his voicemail concerning a sewer backup on his property. A handyman recommended an entire sewer line replacement costing $5,000 out-of-pocket—every landlord’s fear. Luckily, Mark got a second opinion on the issue through a friend, where he found the sewer line simply needed to be cleaned out. What stuck from this experience was the realized need for a set of processes when it comes to handling property maintenance.

Solution

After a few decades of self-managing his property, Mark signed up with Poplar Homes, and he has yet to look back. With Poplar Homes’ rent guarantee, Mark has his rent paid to him at the beginning of the month right to his bank account, regardless if his renters have paid or not. He doesn’t have to chase anyone down for rent since all payments are handled online by Poplar Homes. His detailed monthly financial statements keep the process and communication transparent.

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Through the renter selection process, Mark can simply set the specific requirements that potential tenants must meet while Poplar Homes takes care of the rest. With Poplar Homes, Mark chooses how hands-on he wants to be in the process, a choice he didn’t have as a self-manager.

“I would talk to [Poplar Homes] first before I even thought about renting my property out. Find out what they’ll give you as far as services, what it’s really going to cost you. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

– Mark Cabral

Above all, Poplar Homes’ emergency maintenance line keeps Mark in control when things out of his control happen. In order to revamp his property for a new group of renters, Mark planned on doing some small improvements a month before the move-in day. Just when time felt like it was running out, he realized the kitchen sink needed to be replaced. With a quick call to the maintenance line, Poplar Homes was able to send out a service partner to get the job done. Just two days later, the property was move-in ready.

Let us know what you think of Mark’s Poplar Homes review and experience in the comments below!