Should You Hire a Property Manager Or Not?

Using a property manager has both pros and cons. There are no hard and fast rules regarding whether you should hire one or not. You have to evaluate the answer based on your own situation. The following are some considerations to take into account before you jump to a conclusion.

Time Commitment

A lot of real estate investors have a full time job so they do not have enough time or energy to manage properties. Especially if the house is situated remotely, many investors might feel they cannot manage on their own or do not want to travel. If fact, you can manage on your own.

Cost Benefit

If you have several properties or an apartment complex in one area, using a property manager to manage all the property may be economic. The manager will be able to combine expenses and costs. For example, they can purchase maintenance materials in bulk for all the rental units. If you don't have several rental units in one area, but together with your friends' or families' rental units you do. Then you can afford to hire a professional dedicated property manager.

The Nature of the Rental Market Where your Property is Located

If your rental property is located in an area where renters mostly check out the rentals through the local property management companies, then you have no other choice but to hire the company. This may happen in small towns where there is only a handful of management companies.

Tenant's Characteristics

Some tenants are not easy to deal with. You may find some tenants that are constantly paying late, asking for a lot of unnecessary repairs, complaining about everything, or having difficulty keeping up the premises. A property manager may handle the situation better than you as you might be emotionally attached to your property and less likely to handle many issues impartially. What's more, the tenant might try to take advantage of you. They may take it more seriously if they are dealing with a professional property management company instead of an individual.

Does your Property Need Frequent Repairs or Maintenance?

If your property needs frequent repairs due to its age or other reasons, having a property manager may help you if repairs are a burden. Usually the property management company either has its own in-house repair service or contracts with outside vendors. In any case, you should ask about it before hiring them and understand how much they charge.

What Kind of Service do you need from a Property Manager?

Do you need a full service property management, which includes placing tenants and ongoing management service? If the condition of your property is good or new and not much repair is anticipated, you may save your money on the ongoing management service part. If you already have a tenant but you are moving out of that area you can use a local property manager to collect the rent and do the maintenance work.

Lack of Interest in Managing

Some rental property owners just do not want to get involved in managing the property at all. They rather have someone look after their rental properties so they can enjoy their life doing other things. That is absolutely ok. Enjoying life is also very important.

The purpose of hiring a property manager is to free up your time and make your rental investment successful. Nevertheless, hiring a poor one is worse than hiring no one. You can end up spending more time and money to rescue your property.

If you hire one, keep in mind it does not mean you have to be a completely hand-offs owner. You should keep in regular communication with your property manager so he understands you do not treat your real estate business lightly. How to hire a good property manager belongs to another blog we will write about.

RealInvestorTips.com specializes in investment property mortgage loan modification (Chase / Wanu, Wells Fargo / Wachovia, Citi, Bank of America / Countrywide, American Home Mortgage, and more), short sale for investors and rental management. The website also provides extensive resources on various owner financing tools like Lease To Own / Lease Purchase Option, Land Contracts / Real Estate Contract, and latest real estate trends.