When it comes to new home communities, bigger is often better, to builders as well as buyers.

Master planned communities, or MPCs, are defined as properties for which every element and consideration is planned from the get-go and the community is contracted to follow that plan exactly.

“Developers have learned that they can achieve even more sales and higher prices by joining forces with adjacent land owners to create larger master planned communities with scale,” John Burns Real Estate Consulting, based in Irvine, California, said in a recent report. The company calls these “mega masterplans.”

John Burns Real Estate Consulting figures some 28,000 people bought new homes in the top 50 MPCs last year. That’s nearly 5 percent of the estimated 613,000 new houses sold in 2018. The company also reports that each of the top 50 sold at least 320 new units last year, or nearly one a day.

The problem with MPCs is that houses within their borders usually come at premium prices. After all, someone has to pay for all that good stuff. So, if you are extremely cost-conscious, you might want to stick with stand-alone communities. “There are plenty of nicely done free-standing communities,” says Jody Kahn, a senior vice president at the Burns consulting outfit.

If you are after the perks, though, there are perhaps 500 or so MPCs throughout the country to choose from. Here are some things to consider:

-- Amenities: If you can’t find a house you like, then this is a moot point. But once you do, take a hard look at the amenities package. There’s no rule of thumb about what has to be offered, but Kahn says that “at a minimum,” the place should feature “a solid water-themed amenity,” a pool and clubhouse, perhaps a lagoon or lake. “People really gravitate to water.”

Twenty years ago, a golf course or two was a must-have feature, but no more. Lately, interests have shifted toward things like walking and biking trails that are not paved to give the property a less-developed appearance. Estrella in Goodyear, Arizona, outside Phoenix, will include more than 50 miles of paths and trails for residents’ use.

Parks in and between neighborhoods are popular these days, too, as are social networks and a healthy lifestyle. Harvest in Argyle, Texas, near Dallas, has a working farm with community and private plots.

“Our research -- and my own personal experience -- shows that we boomers value organic, unplanned, authentic, and experience-based housing amenities the most,” says Kate Seabaugh, a Burns research manager. “What should also interest the boomers is that these amenities are generally not expensive.”

-- Housing: A well-designed and successful MPC will offer a wide range of houses, sizes and prices to draw a variety of owners, from millennials to seniors. Look for small, medium and large lot offerings, as well as a broad offering of housing types, both single and multi-family.

-- Competition: There’s no rule of thumb, either, on the ideal number of builders active in the MPC, but there shouldn’t be so many that they cannibalize each other. A certain amount of overlap won’t hurt, says Kahn. But if every builder is marketing to the same buyer, some are going to fail.

-- Financials: Check your builder’s financials to make sure they have the wherewithal to weather a downturn in sales and will be around to live up to their warranty, whether one year or longer. Also check on the stability of the developer so you can be as certain as possible that all that has been promised will be delivered.

During the 2006-2008 housing recession, one of the four builders who joined together to develop Inspirada in Las Vegas slipped into bankruptcy, putting extra pressure on the other three to carry on. Luckily, they managed to pick up the slack, and the property is now flourishing.

-- The Rules: The regulations with which you will have to live by are there to maintain the common areas and housing values. They help create a “nice little wonderland,” says Kahn. But in an MPC, there might be rules for your neighborhood as well as another set of requirements for the overall community, so you have to be doubly attentive. Otherwise, you might run afoul of the law. For example: You may not be able to park your boat, RV or working vehicle at your own house.

There comes a time in every real estate investor’s life when he has to decide whether to operate his rental business by himself or turn the day-to-day workings over to a professional property manager.

If you decide you need help, the next question is: How do you choose a property manager? Yes, they can be expensive. The going rate is 10-15 percent of the monthly rent, with the fee in some vacation home markets running as high as 40 percent. But the right one can be worth his or her weight in gold.

Managers come in all shapes and sizes, from single individuals -- usually real estate agents -- who specialize in rentals to big companies to property management chains a la McDonalds and Subway. The services they provide will depend on your specific needs.

Typically, though, they deal directly with tenants so you don’t have to. Remember, a passive investment isn’t passive if you have to work at it. So a good property manager will separate the operation side from the investment side, says Gary Beasley of Roofstock, an online marketplace where buyers and sellers trade in single-family rental properties.

A good property manager will help you determine how much rent to charge, take applications from would-be renters, run credit reports on them, check their references, speak with their current and former landlords, and make sure they work where they say they do and make what they say they make. Some even use screening companies to make sure possible tenants are on the up-and-up and have not been evicted from other properties.

Among other things, Reiss Properties in Las Vegas uses a detailed lease written for the company by a real estate lawyer, collects a security deposit and the first month’s rent in full before allowing anyone to move in, and it requires tenants to have renters insurance to protect their personal property.

It also uses a 12-page walkthrough report, completed before a tenant moves in and after he or she moves out, takes hundreds of digital pictures to document damage, and makes regular visits to the property. It even makes clients’ mortgage payments if they desire.

To find a property manager that’s right for you, start by contacting your local association of apartment owners for a list of manager-members. Look for affiliates of the Institute of Real Estate Management and the National Association of Residential Property Managers, or ask for referrals from friends and associates who also own rental properties.

Performing this kind of due diligence is key, advises Doug Brien, co-founder of MYND Property Management, which oversees 3,500 units on the West Coast. It’s “just as important” as doing your homework when selecting properties themselves, he says.

Of course, you’ll want to make sure the managers you are considering are bonded and licensed. Just because someone is a licensed real estate agent doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she can act as a property manager. In many jurisdictions, a separate license is required.

Once you settle on two or three potential managers, check their references. Speak with several clients to get a feel for how the candidates operate. You’ll specifically want to know about whatever shortcomings the managers have, such as charging you their monthly fee whether the tenant pays his rent or not. After all, if they can’t collect, why should you have to pay?

Brien of MYND says to be leery of online reviews, which he warns are “highly subjective and polarizing,” and therefore should be taken with a grain of salt. For one thing, some tenants post complaints as a tool to negotiate a better deal with their landlords, he explains. For another, some sites may not display reviews posted by people who are not otherwise active on their sites.

Another aspect of the manager’s job that you’ll want to consider is how he or she reports to you. For example, do they have an online portal you can access to look at bills, rent payments and so on? In addition, your tenant should be able to report maintenance issues and pay their rent electronically.

At the minimum, according to Roofstock, you should be given photos of any damage and written estimates for repairs. Once you give the OK and the repairs are made, you should receive an itemized statement of the costs.

How your rent is collected will determine how quickly your share is forwarded to you. If it is done electronically, it can be deposited directly into your bank account almost as soon as the manager receives it. But if it is all done by check and by mail, it could be weeks before you get your money.

Read the manager’s contract with a specific eye toward how you can cancel the manager’s services if you don’t like how he is performing. Some allow you to opt out with a 30-day notice, but others require you to remain a client for up to 90 days after you give notice you want to dissolve the relationship.

Other contract provisions to study include whether you will have to pay extra for such things as legal representation, evictions and the like, how late fees are charged and who gets them (you or the manager), and how your place will be marketed to new tenants when the old ones leave.

Home inspections are often a major bone of contention between buyers and sellers. Buyers tend to demand that sellers fix every little thing that their examiners find wrong with the house, and sellers sometimes hold firm that they won’t mend items that they believe amount to nothing less than nitpicking.

Worse, though, buyers tend to ascribe the cost to repair everything the inspector discovers at two or even three times what it really might set them back. So they prune their offers by that amount. That leaves sellers stuck having to decide whether to accept a lowball offer or bite the bullet. Let more hard bargaining ensue.

It’s doubtful that this scenario will ever end, no matter how hard the buyer’s agent pleads with her client not to sweat the small stuff -- and no matter how hard the listing agent begs the seller to consider the big picture. But now there are several ways both sides can obtain accurate repair estimates quickly.

If you are familiar with inspection reports, you know they can be lengthy and detailed -- and therefore difficult to decipher. They also offer little, if any, insight into what it might cost to repair what the inspector says needs to be fixed.

Before going any further, it is important to realize that bargaining over every little thing an inspector discovers could be counterproductive. If a buyer dickers too hard, the seller is likely to tell him to take a hike. Existing homes often come with defects, many of which are cosmetic in nature that won’t impact the home’s livability. Even new production houses aren’t perfect, and buyers can take their time making cosmetic fixes after they move in.

For the big-ticket stuff, like an HVAC system that’s on its last legs or an unknown roof leak, new online services like RepairPricer and PunchList can be invaluable.

Based on studies of real-life inspection reports, RepairPricer (repairpricer.com) claims a 98 percent degree of accuracy when it comes to true repair costs. But it does not guarantee its pricing because “there are too many variables and potential underlying issues” of which it may not be aware.

Punchlist (punchlistusa.com) not only provides an estimate of repairs called for by a home inspector but also does the work. The company furnishes its clients with what it says is a quick, but accurate, detailed pricing estimate using a proprietary program that analyzes the inspector’s report.

An estimate is not the same as a price quote, though. Estimates are not contracts and are subject to change based upon actual conditions. A quote, on the other hand, is a contractual offer not to exceed the stated prices. And PunchList, which has a $500 minimum, says it has to see the job in person to be able to firm up the cost enough to produce a quote. Its rates are based on the job, not by the hour, which is how most home repair services work.

At the same time, HouseMaster (housemaster.com) customers can click on the “Estimate Repair Cost” tab on the company’s website, enter the property information and begin generating quotes on items that need to be fixed. The report will build an estimate using data that has been researched and validated by a third-party vendor used by most major insurance companies to build their estimates. One repair estimate comes with every inspection.

Meanwhile, HomeZada (homezada.com), a digital program that helps owners manage maintenance schedules, home improvement projects and even finances, now has an app that allows you to make a digital list of everything you have in your house. All insurance companies recommend creating an inventory of your belongings. That way, if you experience a flood, fire or theft, you won’t have to rely on your memory to determine what was lost.

The technology detects both personal property pieces such as furniture, electronics and collectibles as well as fixed asset items like appliances, fixtures and even building materials. Itemizing both is important because homeowners insurance policies have two different amounts of coverage: one for personal property, and the other for the dwelling itself.