How to Be a Property Manager
A complete, sourced reference for managing property well — both the legal requirements and the practical playbook. Whether you self-manage one rental or oversee a portfolio, this guide covers what a property manager actually does, the rules that apply, and how to be genuinely good at the job across short-term, mid-term, and long-term rentals.
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- The Complete Guide to Being a Property Manager
What a property manager actually does, licensing, business setup, the federal legal baseline, the owner-manager business side, and how to be good at the job.
- Short-Term vs Mid-Term vs Long-Term Rentals
The one comparison that matters — income, effort, risk, and regulation — plus what actually changes operationally between the three strategies.
Running the Property
- Marketing & Listings
Listing quality, channel strategy by rental type, vacancy economics, fair-housing-compliant advertising, and showings.
- Pricing & Revenue
Rent comps and renewal math for long-term; dynamic pricing, minimum stays, and RevPAR for short-term; furnished premiums for mid-term.
- Screening & Fair Housing
Compliant tenant checks: FCRA adverse-action mechanics, criminal-history guidance, assistance animals, source-of-income rules, and vouchers.
- Turnovers, Cleaning & Maintenance
Turnover systems, cleaner redundancy, preventive maintenance, after-hours emergencies, safety devices, and vendor management.
Money & Legal
- Money & Risk
Trust accounts and banking, bookkeeping and reserves, insurance for owners and managers, and 1099-vs-employee classification.
- Rental Taxes
Schedule E, depreciation, the STR tax twists, 1099 obligations, and state-by-state occupancy taxes.
- Deposits, Leases & Evictions
Lease essentials, required disclosures, deposit rules by state, habitability, retaliation, ending tenancies, and the eviction process.
By State
- Property Management in California
DRE licensing, AB 12 deposit caps, AB 1482 rent caps and just cause, entry rules, and the state-level short-term rental posture.
- Property Management in Texas
TREC licensing, deposit rules, statutory late-fee caps, the fast eviction process, and hotel occupancy taxes.
- Property Management in Florida
DBPR/FREC licensing, Chapter 83 deposit clocks, eviction timelines, STR state preemption, and tourist development taxes.
- Property Management in New York
DOS licensing, HSTPA deposit and late-fee rules, strong habitability protections, and the state-level rental landscape.
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