How Much Time Does it REALLY Take to Invest in a Rental Property?

Time is money, right? So how much money are you spending by managing your own rental property? If you’ve read my blogs before, you know that I’m a huge proponent of working with an experienced turnkey/property management company, as opposed to DIY investing and management. Why? Because professional investment and management groups know what the heck they’re doing and, simply put, most other people do not.

I know, I know. There are some that know exactly what they’re doing. I’m not saying ALL investors need to turn it over to a investment/management group. Some do just fine handling everything themselves. But I am saying that all investors should at least consider partnering with the pros, or at least think about how much of their own time and money they would save if they did.

Here’s how much time it really takes to own an investment property.

Before Buying

I’ll just say this upfront: you could spend months looking for a good investment. MONTHS. Depending on the market you’re in, it could be a long time before something worthy turns up, or before your offer is accepted over another buyer if/when you do find something. And this waiting is one of the hardest parts. It’s agonizing when you’re 100% ready to make a move and invest, but you can’t because of some obstacle or another.

There’s also the matter of all the backend work that goes into every investment. Let’s say you find something you think might be promising. Well, get ready to spend some serious time making sure that it’s a deal you actually want. This is the homework stage...you’ve got to check comps, run calculations to ensure you’ll profit, examine neighborhood/markets trends for the area, have the property inspected, appraised, etc. This stage of the investment can take anywhere from days to weeks. It’s intensive, stressful, and I’ll say it again - time-consuming.

After Buying

Let’s say that everything checked out, you made an offer, it was accepted, and now you’ve closed on the property. Congratulations! You are officially an investor! Now get ready to spend even more time dealing with your property if you’re handling everything solo. If the home isn’t move-in ready, you’ve got anywhere from days to months to spend on rehab, depending on the condition of the property.

The next step is finding good tenants so you can begin to actually make money off the investment. This stage will also take time. If you’re got a large pool of renters, you’re going to have to weed out the good from the bad right away. If there aren’t people busting down your door to get a shot at the place, then that’s another problem. Either way, prospective tenants will need to be vetted to ensure they’re worthy of living in your property.

After the house is tenanted, there’s still more work to do. Who are they going to call when the AC goes out in the middle of a July heat wave? You. What about when the toilet backs up and they can’t get it unclogged? You. Or how about those times when they don’t call, and you do a random check on the property and notice there’s a hole in the roof that’s been there for weeks? That’s your problem to deal with too.

What I’m trying to say is that for as long as you own this property, you’re going to be spending valuable time ensuring that it stays in good condition and continues to provide income. It’s difficult to put a value on exactly how much time per week this amounts to, but I can assure you that you’ll be spending several hours per month, at a minimum, once you’re in the maintenance stage. This may not sound like much, but if you are working full-time or own several properties, this will quickly start to eat away at your spare time.

Before deciding to embark on a DIY approach to investing, you should consider the alternative - partnering with an investment/management group who can save you all that time. Remember, time is money, and when you’re not using your own time for your property, you can spend it in more productive ways.