I have two properties, I rent one out, ultimately I went with DIY.
Let's talk about fees. 15 - 20%. You will be locked into their services. This means their home watch, etc. Typically, this and any other affiliated service, lawn Care in some cases, will be charged to you above market rates.
Pictures and marketing. Most use their own pictures. Most are cell phone quality. Believe me a 200.00 set of professional pictures will boost your occupancy rate. "Marketing" to a service means placing in on their webpage and nothing more. Very few even bother to pay for placement in Google listings, including Hometown Properties. Consider the horrid bad copy (description) on Hometown Properties. There is none, zero. Hometown is affiliated with the Villages. This is easy to confirm, as it used the Official Villages logo.
Furnishings. You will be told what you must have in the home if furnished. While this is not all bad it is a requirement. If it is not furnished many, including Hometown Properties will tell you what you are going to pay. For example some DIYer's charge back
the water or set a threshold below which is included in rent. Not with Hometown Properties, you pay it all.
Terms of the contact. You will have to trust me on this. I have written contracts worth Billions of dollars for decades. Hometown Properties management ranks up there with the top three of worst for you, the owner, that I looked at and I looked at several. Consider just one aspect of the Hometown Properties contact you can't include a Golf cart as a Villages approved vendor they will refer those requests to another Villages approved vendor. Let's not forget YOU THE OWNER do not get to set the rent. Let's say there is something special about your place that makes it especially valuable, sorry, that's the price.
Now Hometown Properties is not alone in some of these negatives,and we could argue the merits of any of these points i.e.golf cart. But you get the idea
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