Self-manage vs property manger?

[Jessica Stern]

Hi everyone,

I am about to close on my first two properties in Philly next week (woohoo!) and cannot decide if I should hire a property management company, or self-manage the future renters.

I have a full-time job and live two hours away in NYC, but the upfront costs and monthly fee for the property management services seem steep to me.

Anyone feel passionate about this either way?

thank you!

[Sheryl Sitman]

@Jessica Stern  Great question and good that you are seeking advice. I live just shy of an hour from Philly and have a portfolio that includes Philadelphia and  many other areas around the country. But even in Philly, I do NOT self manage. My reasons: I do not have the personality for managing tenant relations which in a city especially, can get complicated; I am an investor - not a landlord. In other words, I spend my time on developing my portfolio, analyzing markets and other projects related to RE rather than dedicating time to vetting tenants, replacing smoke detector batteries, chasing a delinquent payment, administering paperwork (lots of it in Philly). Also, my intention in becoming an investor was to live my life more freely - and now I travel extensively, often leaving the country for a month+ at a time. That would be challenging if I self managed.  I worked my way through FOUR Property Management companies here before landing on one I am able to work well with. If you do self manage, I also have a great property maintenance for you :-)  I manage the FB group Philadelphia Landlords Connect which  you may want to join. Feel free to reach out