Should I hire a property management firm

[Konstantin Dubovenko]

Hi everyone, I am an moving to a new home and planning to rent my condo in San Diego (central Hilcrest walking distance to Balboa Park / Zoo). The condo is modern and basically in perfect shape, completely remodeled 1.5 years ago with brand new appliances and 0 issues. I'm trying to figure out what are the trade-offs of hiring a property management firm vs just doing the initial work myself. My monthly cost for mortgage, tax and HOA is about $2,200 and the rent would be $2,400 on the low end and $2,600k-$2,700k on the high end. Since I do not have prior experience renting I'm unsure of the best beginner strategy. Granted that hiring a management firm would probably eliminate any cashflow, I am leaning towards just managing it myself and assuming that since the place is in great shape, the day-day involvement would be minimal. However, I do have a great job in San Diego and am not necessarily counting on the cash flow for income (playing the long game with equity accumulation), although it certainly would be nice. Curious to hear any advice from people who may have been in a similar situation to me. Really, any advice helps, thanks in advance!