The Pro's & Con's of Managing Your Own Rental Properties

Should I manage my rental property or hire a property manager?

Have you ever asked yourself this question?

The truth is you are the only one that can answer this question.

But, before you attempt to answer this question here are some very important aspects to strongly consider:

Your Options:

Manage Yourself

Pro's

• Choosing exactly who your tenants will be

• Keeping good relations with your tenants

• Keep better watch over the property

• Saving the cost of using a property manager (5-10% of the monthly rental income)

• Less Vacancy time. You are much more motivated to keep it rented than a property manager

Cons

• More time consuming. Duties include:

  • Screening out prospective tenants

  • Responding to phone & email inquiries

  • Showing the property to prospective tenants. Dealing with “No Shows”

  • Preparing leases

  • Dealing directly with tenants and their issues

  • Making repairs yourself or hiring tradesmen

Property Manager/Management Company

Pro's

• Saves a lot of valuable time

  • They place the rental ads

  • Handle all inquiries

  • Screen out tenants

  • Run Credit checks

  • Show the rental

  • Hire out the repairs

  • Drawing up lease agreements

  • Keeping track of income and expenses

Cons

• Less income for you. 5-10% of the monthly rental income will go to the property management company.

• Less control over which tenants are chosen.

• No relationship built with tenants

• Chance of inflated or made up repair costs and miscellaneous expenses

• Potentially more vacancy

• Potential errors in screening process leading to less favorable tenants

What is the Right Choice for You?

Before you choose an option take a deep look at yourself and your goals.

Ask yourself these questions:

How much available time do I have to dedicate to my rental property/properties?

How valuable is my time? Is it more worth my time to delegate the rental management to a property management?

What are my goals? Am I looking for more of a passive investment or active/hands on investment?

How large do I want to scale my business?

What are my strengths and weaknesses? Which choice compliments these the best?

What is my personality type? Would I enjoy interacting with tenants?

One More Thing To Consider

If you are really looking to scale your real estate investing business and grow your portfolio of rental properties, I feel that hiring a property management company is inevitable.

As real estate investors the highest and best use of our time is really negotiating with sellers and acquiring more great deals.

Keep this in mind as you continue to grow your real estate investing business.

Remember you can always start by managing your properties yourself and gaining that experience and knowledge then moving to a property management company at a later date.

Going this route will surely steer you in one direction or the other.

I wish you the best luck in your business!

Here’s to your success!