Is Hiring A Property Manager Worth It?

Deciding whether or not you want to spend money on a property manager versus managing your rental property yourself takes some consideration. A property manager will handle pretty much every aspect you can think of, and in some ways handle it better than you would. They take care of your property. 

They work directly with the tenants. They are the bridge between them and you. They do things like handle maintenance and repairs, collect rent, deal with complaints and even marketing. This can save you from a lot of stress in owning and running such a business, making a barricade between things you may not be able to or want to deal with. Whether it be because you don’t have the time for it or let your emotions take over, having a property manager could be a great option for your lifestyle. Property managers typically charge between 8-12% of the rent, so consider all of these factors when deciding if it’s a good fit for you.

What are Some of the Services They Will Handle for You?
Screen tenants, rent collection, show the home/apartment, knowing all the laws and ethics behind the business, drawing up the lease and lease renewal, maintaining the property, virtually every aspect of renting property. This allows you to invest in places geographically distant from each other and you and set the right rent for the area and market.

Screening Tenants, Why is it a Big Deal?
The potential tenant you have living on your property directly correlates to the success of your investment. There are many factors to consider, and these all take time and money to go over. The criminal background of the potential client is huge. A property manager has tools and services they pay for to screen thoroughly, including criminal, rental history, and credit.

Collecting Rent
This in itself can be taxing. Chasing the tenants each month can be a pain, especially if you live out of state from your income property. The hassle of trying to get paid and keeping track of it can be difficult and it get harder if you have many tenants. Your property manager will take care of this, sending late payment notices immediately, keeping you paid and tracking every tenant you have. All you have to do is check in with them once in a while and they will tell you what you need to know and what they are doing it about it.

Showing the Property Can Save You Time and Money
Who wants to take the time to keep cleaning the apartment or house, keep the lawn cut, keep looking for potential tenants and giving up their afternoons and weekends to hope and find someone to lease their property? The property manager, that’s who. They can save you a ton of your time by doing this all for you. Sleep in while business gets taken care of by the manager you hired to take care of all the little things.

The Law and What You Don’t Know
Knowing the ins and outs of the laws, and the ones particular to your region, are vital to keeping everything running smooth. Knowing what can and can’t be in a lease, how to evict a tenant should it become necessary and what your rights as the owner of the property are can make a dramatic difference in the entire renting experience for everyone. Chances are you don’t have a law degree and don’t want to wind up in some legal battle over something that could have been prevented. Let your property manager, who will be an expert in all matters with everything to do with the whole process, take care of everything. They can prevent many of the legal actions that could arise and should one happen, they will be on top of it. Taking away the stress you would have to deal with by making you more of a spectator than the one in the center of the battle.

Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance
This is one of the most important things to consider when trying to keep your name good in the business world. Keeping your tenants happy about where they live and making them want to stay. Fast, effective and lasting maintenance are absolutely necessary. Leaking sinks, electrical problems, hot water heater issues and a number of other things can pop up at any time. You will need to be available 24/7 for these emergencies, and be able to meet a repair person during day time hours. If you don’t then this can make for unhappy tenants, which means they will leave after their lease is up and now you have to go through the marketing process again which is a hassle in its own regard. Let the property manager come fix the problem while you continue to live your life. They will maintain the vendor relationships with the tradesman, contractors and suppliers. Just a few phone calls and the problem is on its way to being nonexistent. Then everyone, including you, is happy.

You can have multiple properties across the country
What if you want to run several complexes that are far apart from each other? That’s totally fine, and super simple with property managers. You can live where you choose and let them run your business from several different places, letting you expand your goals all while maintaining a low stress level knowing everything is being taken care of. This way you can own several complexes or homes and still sit back and relax.

Setting the right rent
This is important because your goal is to make money, and the tenant’s goal is to find a good and affordable place to live. Set the rent too high and you will have a vacant property for a while. Set to too low and you may wind up barely breaking even or even going in the hole. Either way, it’s bad news. The market in the region your property is located, the supply and demand for somewhere to lease and the quality of the property all go into choosing the rent. Let the property manager find the right numbers for you. That’s their job, to fill the leases and keep everyone happy. Take the questioning game out of it and let them do their job. Hiring a property manager might seem scary, or a waste of money if you haven’t done your research. Now that you know some about it, I bet is sounds more appealing. Sit back, relax and let your property manager take out a lot of the work for you while you are serving your income properties. It can be the difference between a successful and stress free experience and a nightmare that doesn’t seem to end.

Author Bio:
Peter Evering
https://jdpdxrealestate.com/is-hiring-a-property-manager-worth-it/