Pros vs Cons of Property Manager

[Maurice Rose]

I'm looking into purchasing a multi unit and wanted to know if anyone has any experience, positive or negative regarding using a property manager vs self management of the multi unit.

[Corby Goade]

If you are new to investing and have never managed before, you NEED to manage your own properties for awhile. You need to know what a property manager does, how much work it is and understand the time commitment. How could you possibly manage your property manager if you have no clue what they do or how much time it takes?

I'm with @Joel Owens, 20 units is probably the max that you could reasonably manage on your own. The key really is finding good tenants- if you do that, management can be very simple. I only have 9 units right now, manage them on my own and probably get 4 calls a month, which is very doable. I've done a poor job picking tenants before and you can get 5 calls a week from a needy tenant. Multiply that by 20 and you will be in serious trouble.

A four plex should be fairly easy for you to manage on your own, just do your due diligence and be patient. A vacancy for a month is much better than having a nightmare tenant for a year.