To Self-Manage or Not to Self-Manage Your Short-Term Rental

To Self-Manage or Not to Self-Manage…that is the question

Are you considering diving into the world of short term rentals (or STR for short)? After making the decision to begin investing in this asset class one of the biggest decisions is whether to self-manage. I’ve noticed a trend lately of investors who were previously self-managing that have now decided not to self-manage. Why? Read below for the pros and cons and decide for yourself – should you self-manage or hire a knowledgeable property manager?

Pros of Self-Managing

Keep more profits for yourself! This is the biggest reason investors choose to self-manage STRs. Why not make more money? Most STR property managers charge anywhere from 20-40%. This large of a percentage could make a big difference to your bottom line.

Maintain total control. If you’re constantly hearing about all the headaches the bad property managers cause owners of STRs in your market, then this could be a pro of self-managing for you.

Creation of a business. If you have that entrepreneurial spark, then why not create a business centered around co-hosting or becoming a property manager yourself!

Cons of Self-Managing

Time and stress. If you value your time and don’t want to be on call 24/7, then self-managing STRs may not be for you. The likelihood of issues popping up every now and then is high. Water alarm going off in the middle of the night and you live out of state? Uh oh!

Not scalable. Many investors find that once they hit a particular number of STR they begin to find the need to hire help. This happened to me when I reached 5 STR. Is self-managing STRs a passive business? Seems the answer is no.

Learning how to achieve high ADR (average daily rate) and maintaining occupancy. Many property managers have been in this business a long time and have learned how to achieve both high occupancy and optimized rates. Being new in this business, you’ll need to learn marketing and other tactics to support the stabilization and growth of your STR.

Are you desiring to be a passive investor in real estate? If so, the obvious choice is to not self-manage. Ultimately, only you can decide. The choice is yours!