If you have purchased a rental property or currently own rental property and are managing it on your own it doesn’t take too long to realize the many responsibilities involved and can become somewhat overwhelming.
For some investors, the solution is to hire a property management company to manage the rental property. But is this the right decision for you?
Do you have what it takes to manage the property? If this is your first time managing the property, you will soon find that there is more involved than just collecting rent. To name a few of the responsibilities involved such as marketing the property, screening tenants, collecting rent, maintenance, how to sign a lease, how much to collect on a deposit, etc… If you are not familiar with rent collection, you can quickly find that your tenants are taking advantage of your inexperience. In addition to rent collection, day-to-day maintenance of a rental property can be tiring. If you are not operating your property as a full-time job, you may not have the time to address tenant concerns or repairs that may require immediate attention. Usually, if your rental property is far away, most will be hesitant to make the trip out to the property for basic inspections, maintenance and or to it to deal with the issues that can come about. If you’re unable to check on the property on a regular basis and handle any issues that may arise, hiring a property management company should be able to address these items.
A good question one might ask is: “What services do I need with my property?” A property management company that only does rent collection may not be enough to take care of your needs since there is much more to it than just collecting rent. You’ll also want to take into consideration the fees charged by a property management company, as this will cut into your profit margin. Last but not least, before hiring a property management company, do thorough research and get ALL of the fees charged per month and look at the annual overall cost involved when comparing. Only hire a reputable property manager. You will be relying on this company to collect rent and represent you and you interests.