Self-Manage or Professional Property Management

[Tony Castronovo]

I know every investor is faced with this question. Self manage or hire property management? I have self-managed my SFR portfolio (8 properties) quite successfully and developed some great systems and processes. But they were all located within a 30 min drive. Now I am taking on a 16-unit apartment complex that is 60 miles away.

To be clear, I will NOT consider pure self-management.  If I do not hire a PM my plan is to leverage a local handyman that I connected with for repairs and maintenance and his wife actually runs a 140-unit nearby, so she offered to help me on the leasing front (meet prospective tenants for showings, etc.).

I have a couple of PM's that were referred to me that seem to have some competitive pricing.  But when I tally it all up between monthly fees, renewals, and marketing/placement fees it's still quite a big nut to cover.

What are your thoughts and also, what kind of rates/fees would you consider "good" for something of this size that has 100% occupancy and minimal deferred maintenance?

[Jeff Kehl]

@Tony Castronovo no one who has a serious sized property or portfolio manages it themselves. So if you are looking to grow beyond that find a good pm company.

Having said that, on smaller properties you often won't find great pm companies so maybe partially managing it yourself is the best answer.

Or a third possibility, form your own pm company. There are tax advantages to doing that so if you enjoy management and are wanting to grow, think about that as well.

Overall I would encourage you to think about what you personally want to be doing in 3-5 years. If you see yourself actively involved managing a company head towards self-management. If you see yourself totally hands-off, spend your energy finding the best pm companies in your area to partner with.