Rental Property Management Checklist

Entirely. The return only shows up if the rental is run like a business — screening, maintenance, compliance, and books. Deferred tasks and vacancies quietly erase the margin the spreadsheet promised.

Weigh your real available time against a fee of roughly 8–12% for a long-term rental. Distance and complexity tip it toward a manager; a nearby long-term rental you have time for can be self-managed.

Because turnover, guest communication, cleaning coordination, and dynamic pricing are close to a full-time job, and STR management runs higher (often 20%+). For a busy professional or a distant property, a manager usually pays for itself.

Washington landlord-tenant rules, proper deposit handling, any city registration where required, and safety and habitability (smoke/CO, working systems). Getting these wrong turns a good return into a legal problem.

Clean bookkeeping and documentation to support depreciation and expense deductions. The tax angle that justifies the deal only holds up if the books do — sloppy records put the write-offs at risk.

Match distance, complexity, and your time to the fee, then set up systems either way. Making that call and lining up referrals is part of a Real Estate Review.