Owner and Property Management

[Jerome Jong]

Hello all,

I did a few searches for the topic, but I figured I would post since I might be in a unique situation. My partner and I are owners of a 24-unit apartment building in CO, just west of Denver. We closed on the property back in 12/2021 and hired a Property Management company right off the bat. I have had numerous issues with the company that I won't get into detail here (mainly revolving around overhead and surprise fees), and I wanted to note that they are a part of NARPM. I've decided that I would like to part ways with them after our term ends in November, but I am basically thinking about the plan forward. One option on the table is to take over the property ourselves and to provide the Property Management services between my wife and myself. My wife works part-time 15-20 hours and I work a full-time day job. We also have two young children and one on the way. My wife is also not as gung-ho as I am at this point with this plan. Anyway, I have done a little reading on the topic and got through Heather & Brandon Turner's book "The Book on Managing Rental Properties" and I feel that I would be somewhat comfortable taking it over. The book might be catered more for SFH than a 24-unit building, but I think a lot of it could apply to a multi-family building (setting boundaries & policies, and understanding fair-housing laws). The main motivating factor for us to take over PM services is cash-flow (I read somewhere that anything less than 50 units a landlord could presumably take over these duties for the much-needed additional income, especially early on in ownership). The only pinch that I have is not knowing what I don't know. The building rent is somewhat stabilized - no evictions that I am aware of. Could anyone provide any insight? I'm hoping to hear from someone in similar shoes.

TIA!  

Regards,
Jerome