5 BIG THINGS a Great Property Manager Can Do for You this Year

[New Blogger Note: I'm happy to be starting this blog to share what I've learned about residential real estate investing and property management in my twenty years in the business, and sharing my first blog post today.]

As a real estate investor, are you reevaluating your business ventures and processes this month? Have you been considering hiring a property manager for your multifamily residential rental property, but remain on the fence? Here are Five Big Things a property manager can do for you this year that might help you decide.

Provide You with Access to a New Network. Sure, if you’re self-managing you might have your own network of vendors and helpmates, but a great property manager who’s been in business for a long time is going to have a long list that they’ve been vetting for years—attorneys, insurance agents, bankers, creative financing professionals, title agents, rehabbers, windows and floors and cabinets and roofing and plumbing providers, etc. They also might be able to get you the benefit of bulk pricing because of their relationships with these service professionals.

Buy You Time to Invest (or Whatever). Are your tenant calls and work orders coming to you right now, clogging up hours you’d like to spend finding new investments (or having fun)? Sure, self-managing can save you money, but it also costs you time. If you decide you want more of your time for other interests, remember that a property manager IS your landlord. We probably all know investors who’ll tell us they couldn’t be happier than when they hired a manager and got to stop answering tenant calls altogether.

Be Your Middleman. Have you gotten into a business arrangement with a tenant you wish you could take back, like accepting partial rent payments because you’re too nice? When you hire a property manager, you can. A good PM will take the horse by the reins, introducing their company, policies and procedures to your tenants with a firm yet professional approach and deflecting negative feelings and statements away from you. It’s a great PM’s business to maintain a non-personal relationship with your tenants and act in the best interests of your investments.

Help You Organize Your Financials. Great PMs nowadays have awesome technology, with online owner portals and management software that allow owners to print accounting reports with a few simple, quick clicks.

Help You Grow Your Investment Business. A good property manager is usually a licensed real estate agent (in Ohio they’re required to be, unless they’re managing only their own properties). Some PMs do sales in their offices as well, depending upon their personal preference for handling multiple business models. A PM who also does sales knows more about buying investment properties than does a non-investment realtor—a great perk if you’re looking to build your multifamily portfolio. And bonus: the only fees you pay for in-depth search assistance are standard realtor commissions upon closing.