Can real estate agents manage a rental property? 

My main suggestion would be find an agent in your area who has a good reputation for managing property e.g. reviews from other landlords.  Generally it’s fee for service where I am (in Victoria) and the agents will have a menu of different things you can choose them to do.  They generally have an accounting arm that keeps track of your rent book and they will pay expenses directly from that usually.  They can do things like pay your council rates and invoices from rent monies, manage all maintenance needs and you can essentially tell them how much you want to be informed or how much consent you give them.  I gave mine a lot of leeway to use their judgement and just authorise works where it was in their view essential – I didn’t want needless phone calls.  Over time they provided advice on what I could push back on as well e.g. nuisance complaints about a loud oven etc.  Don’t skimp on maintenance and things like that, it’s your property after all, and make sure you organise things like annual smoke detector checks and biennial electrical safety and gas safety checks to ensure your tenants are safe.  Little things like getting a contractor out to clean the air con split system as well is something that your tenants will definitely appreciate.  The better you treat your tenant, the better they will treat your property.

Lastly in selecting your tenant – a good tenant is worth their weight in gold.  Make sure you are comfortable that your tenant will be a good fit for your home and for the complex if it’s in strata.  e.g. you can’t fit a family of six into a one bedroom apartment comfortably, they will just be unhappy.  A good agent can provide all the advice you need to make the best decisions.   They charge a lot of fees, so you need to make sure you get something for it after all, so ask them everything!