Your PM will likely have much more time evicting, damage to the unit, travel  to collect rents multiple times, additional bookkeeping costs, etc.I have seen PM companies in rougher areas charge 12% average before.

Neither rental management nor bookkeeping are my strengths.

It will make your bookkeeping and tax prep much easier, saving you money and time.

When I put these together my biggest challenge is the lack of bookkeeping.

Must be efficient in Microsoft Office Suite and QuickBooks.Light bookkeeping using QB, general office duties, maintaining client files, running errands, creating flyers for properties and other announcements.Able to Multi-task and work efficiently.Must have excellent oral and written skills to correspond with clients a must!

Occupancy is currently 86% and the current owners literally have no marketing, not the brightest strategy but nonetheless they have gone from 53% from a year and a half ago to 86% with this strategy... its pretty much just word of mouth although it does have very good proximity to the highway system.The management company we will hire is charging 4% to oversee everything; this includes bookkeeping, etc.  

I do handle all the finance myself, though, (i.e. depositing rent, bookkeeping, preparing leases/contracts, etc.).

What do you need a bookkeeper for?

Hiring a bookkeeper was a game-changer for us and I highly recommend it to other investors who don't have one.

Bookkeeping (tracking financial spending and receiving) - needs to be detailed oriented, not necessarily a CPA [$ or $$]2.