Keeping your home in top condition is only one of the functions of the management company. Equally important is their role as local contact for your guests.

If they are to perform this role efficiently, they need to be available 24 hour a day. This does not mean that they sit by the phone throughout the night, but they should at least pick up and deal promptly with any voice mail messages they receive, irrespective of the time. This is not something that all companies do very well. I know of companies who are as difficult to get a response from during the day as they are in the early hours of the morning.

In view of the variable performance of management companies in this area, I think it is worthwhile providing your guests with contact information for yourself, too. I know that you do not want to be phoned if a toilet blocks 4000 miles away, but it is possible that you may be able to elicit a response out of the management company when the guest is unable to. If you go down this road, make sure that it is clear that you are a last line of defense, not a convenient alternative to your local contact.

There is an alternative to signing up with a home management company, although not every owner will be in a position to take advantage of it. On some subdivisions there are resident couples or families who bring in some cash by looking after a few neighboring homes. This can be very effective. These people are much more likely to be keen to do a good job, and you will have the benefit of local recommendations to confirm that they are up to the mark.

There may be one or two aspects of management that they may not want to deal with - things like renewing rentals licenses, for example - but these are things that you can learn to do yourself. It may also be necessary for you to provide someone else to act as a local contact for your guests, but this too can be arranged. If you get the chance to set up a deal like this, give it serious thought.