Renting out a US property while living in the UK -- how to handle rent payments?

Is anyone doing this? (i.e. Living in the UK while renting out their property in the US.) If so, what is the best way to handle the monthly rent payments? Does your tenant mail the cheque to you in the UK, or is there a clever electronic method that is easier/incurs fewer penalties/deductions...?

I'm still looking into doing this.  I will be using a property management company, and am investigating how my bank can process checks that are mailed to them, as my mortgage payment will come out of rent income.  It sounds pretty straight-forward, but I'm also not planning on accessing the money in the UK (any extra money, if any, will go into savings/retirement).

Here in the UK, I do direct deposit, using online banking.

No reason why it couldn't work there too, as long as it is set up on your end.

I am lucky that the person renting my home uses the same bank as me.  They will transfer the money to my account (using online banking) and I will pay the bill straight out of there.

My other option that I thought about was to have the renter send a check to my father and then have my father deposit into my account (I added him to my checking account in case this needs to be done).

I believe that there are property management companies that will pay your mortgage directly if the renter sends the check to them.  

My previous management company mailed the rent checks to my parents who put them in my US bank, then I paid things online. My new management company will transfer the payment electronically to my US bank. You'd have to check with the company if they would transfer it to an international bank. I imagine if so, you'd have to pay them a fee.

I've also got a management company.  They collect the checks, pay the homeowner's association dues, and mail the proceeds check to my bank.  It's a piece of cake.

I'm currently shopping around as well for a property management company.  Can anyone give some tips on how to pick one?

I'm currently shopping around as well for a property management company.  Can anyone give some tips on how to pick one?

I found mine through the real estate agent who sold me the house.  If possible, you might ask yours.

I'm currently shopping around as well for a property management company.  Can anyone give some tips on how to pick one?

My DH and I still own our 4 BR single family home in the DC area and are renting it out during the time we're here in the UK.  We have a prop. management firm managing our property.  I interviewed 5 property managers - from single-person shops to rental arms of major realty companies in our area, and my tips would be:

- Ask about other properties in their portfolio and determine whether or not they are market-equivalent with yours.  The dude who managed a bunch of Sec 8s in Baltimore City and emphasized his former experience as a policeman and ability to get rent out of people was not a good match for the type of tenant my neighborhood and property were likely (and hoping) to attract.

- Ask how they go about screening tenants for your property and, avoiding clearly illegal housing discrimination, they would work to match your property with the right tenant.  One person I interviewed thought that whoever could pay the rent was a good tenant, and while that's 90% of the job, the other 10% is finding a good situational match who isn't going to destroy your property, annoy your neighbors, etc.  This is especially important when you are planning to return to your home at some point, I think.

- Ask what their marketing plan is for your property.  Every week someone isn't renting it is another week you're losing money.  They need to have a stronger plan than sticking it on MLS; ideal is contacts with any large local companies' relocation agents, local gov/military housing offices if that applies, etc.

- Ask how often they visit the property to ensure it isn't being shred to pieces.  The sad fact of the matter is that people treat rentals like crap - no pride of ownership or anything.  Therefore you want the PM to visit the property at least every 6 months to check the state of things.

- Ask if they have a regular list of contractors as their "go to" people.  Hopefully they would have a handyman available for little odd jobs that always crop up, and licensed professionals for major jobs, and the wisdom of experience of when to call in the $35 per hour handyman vs the $75 per hour plumber.

- Finally, make sure you meet with people in person - preferably once in their office and once at your home.  Just to get a feel for how professional a person/business is, how comfortable they are in valuing your property, etc.  These are kind of intuition-based judgments, but they are invaluable.

Most importantly, do your own research and understand at the very basic level how much you can expect to get as rental income based on the market in your area, what the landlord-tenant relationship laws are in your area (in our case, MontCo MD is very tenant-sympathetic if you don't follow their guidelines closely), and CALL THOSE REFERENCES!!!!!

Thank you... that was really helpful.  I have a list of 11 property management companies in my city and I just need to figure out which one of them is the right one!

I haven't been around here for a while, but thought I'd add my £0.02 (that's like $4.50 isn't it?). 

My tenant in Baltimore just deposits the checks direct at my bank.

Now, that said, I lucked out and got the best tenants in the world. They're Navy, so understand the problems of owning property while moving around the world, and were more than willing to work with me. They've also improved the property considerably at their own expense, since they're planning to be there for 3 yrs.

I also lucked out on the property management. I spoke to a few commercial companies, and it just seemed that their charges and rates were astronomical. So I ended up using my neighbour, who is newly retired, bored out of his mind, and handy with old houses. I pay him the same basic rate that the prop mgmt people wanted (10% of the rent), but that's it. I've paid him a bit extra for big jobs like replacing the water heater, and another plumbing repair, but he's been a godsend on the small stuff.

Hope it goes well for you.

Thanks -- This is a tenant who's already been in place for a year or more, and he's been fine so far, so I think we're going to do something similar to you -- have him send the cheques directly to our bank, and encourage him to get in contact with us via email if something should break, and we'll just work out the best solution together.

Yep, if you've known him that long, you should be able to make that judgement. It also means that you develop your relationship with them direct, and they're a lot less likely to trash your house....

Just a related question: what kind of insurance should I get (that has liability coverage)?  Condo insurance or Renters insurance?  I live in a condo building, btw.

I'd say that's a question for your agent. I just called State Farm, and they converted my homeowners insurance into a rental property policy. It costs about the same, and comes out of my mortgage just like the homeowners did. I never noticed the difference.