To PM or Not to PM

[Brett B.]

I despise Property Management companies. I think a majority of them are thieves and thrive on nativity. I usually end up buying my properties from people who used PM companies and ended up needing to sell their property.

My .02 is that nobody will look out for your asset more than you. Does anyone have good stories involving PM companies? How many units do you think warrant hiring a PM company?

[Teresa F.]

Hi Brett,  I could go on for days about this topic but I'll try to keep it brief.  I use property managers for my out of state properties.  One is great and helped me recover from a terrible property manager, the other out of state manager is okay.  With both, I instruct them about with what I want including a template of paint, carpet, tile, etc for turnovers and I negotiated every line of the contract.  The "okay" manager didn't want to raise rent because my really good tenants may move elsewhere.  (We discussed, raised rent, tenant stayed.)  The great property manager gets me above market rents.  

Because of ownership structure, I also have a property manager for one of my local properties.  When I have a chance I will find another management company as the company has not served me well.  

My other local properties are self managed.   I work well with my tenants and have dependable people to handle maintenance issues.  As a result, I have successfully managed my properties without it becoming too much of a drain on my time. Frankly, I have little tenant turnover because I spend a lot of time initially "training my tenants."  

So -- use property managers if you must (distance) or if you don't have time to train your tenants.  Even if you are very busy, make time to review and question your property managers and review their statements.  Finally, visit your properties and talk with your tenants -- after all, it is a business expense.  

Teresa