Questions from A New Investor

[Andrew Bodiford]

I am new to real estate investing, and I will be closing on my first property this month! I do have two quick questions:

1) I have just finished reading the ABCs of Real Estate Investing by Ken McElroy. Among other topics, the chapter on property management really stuck out. He discussed the numerous pros to hiring a company in the beginning. I do plan on obtaining more rental properties (hopefully in the near future) so is it a good idea to hire a company at this point in my investing career? The company I am looking at does provide a discount for multiple properties. The property I close on this month will continue to cash flow with the fees charged by the property management company.

2) Should I obtain a LLC or just have an umbrella policy to cover my assets if something were to happen on my rental property? I have read the pros and cons of both options, and I wanted to get other investors opinions on this.

Thank you in advance for your help! I am located in Charleston, SC and would love to hear from other investors.