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?