STR: How to Deal with Cities that Mostly Use Management Companies

[Alexandra Danner]

Hi there. I am looking into buying my first STR property in Ocean City, NJ. The city's majority of rentals are handled by property management companies. They handle everything from booking, cleaning and maintenance. My realtor thinks it might be an issue if I try to manage the house on my own because he's worried I won't be able to find the right team to help me out nor the renters.  I take what he says lightly because he doesn't know a ton about the STR world.  On the flipside he lives in the town, so many be he knows more than I'm giving him credit for.

What do you think?  Do you think managing it myself is a chance worth taking?  I tried looking on Airbnb and VRBO and there are some listings, but it isn't oversaturated.  Would not having many options on these sites be an advantage, or am I looking at this through rose colored glasses?