Years back, a small real estate investor, who also happened to be an attorney, contacted Evernest about property management services. Up to that point, he had managed his properties on his own.
But as an attorney, he realized his time spent self-managing was worth far more elsewhere.
That’s the value of property management vs. self-management; more time and fewer headaches.
But working with a property manager isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. Self-management and working with a property manager each have benefits and drawbacks.
So below, we’ll evaluate the pros and cons of each option. We’ll also look at the tenant’s point of view and why the right property manager is ultimately better for your tenants.
Self-management means that you handle all the day-to-day operations your property requires. That’s everything from collecting rent to receiving and reviewing applications to handling maintenance and more.
If you self-manage, you’re officially a landlord — meaning you own the property you manage.
A property manager partners with you to handle the leg work of keeping up with your investments. You simply collect your cash flows minus property management fees.
The term “property manager” generally denotes a company that a landlord hires to take on day-to-day tasks.
Many investors soon realize how valuable the right property manager can be if they want to grow their portfolio and earn the most returns.
Here are some crucial reasons to consider hiring a property manager:
Self-management lets you build a close relationship with your tenants. This can help you keep tenants around longer.
But consider this: What if something happens and you’re out of town, unable to deal with the issue?
Tenants want prompt and professional responses from the main point of contact for any issues that arise.
So what happens if, for example, you’re on vacation several states away? Or if you own properties in another state? You can’t just fly out to your property in an instant. Your strong tenant relationship alone won’t save you here.
However, a local property manager is on standby for these matters. The tenant won’t care who they’re interacting with, as long as their point of contact resolves issues quickly and efficiently.
Sure, there’s always the risk of hiring an incompetent third party to handle certain matters for you. That means you must research what makes a good property manager and interview several. The time and money you spend finding a good property manager isn’t a cost but an investment.
Self-management works well for many brand-new property investors. It can be especially helpful if you don’t have a lot of capital to kickstart your investing just yet or if you like to do things yourself.
Self-managing quickly teaches you what to look for when buying properties and how to handle issues. The latter can pay off later, whether you hire a property manager or become one yourself.
However, real estate investing is a business. Like any other business, you can only wear all the hats for so long. At a certain portfolio size, you’ll have to hire a property manager to keep growing and not become overwhelmed. The fees you pay them will be well worth the time you save and the expertise they bring to the table.
Regardless of where you are in your journey — if you’re tired of the self-management hassle, Evernest is happy to take on the hard stuff for you. We manage over 6,000 properties for owners and investors, so you can rest assured your properties are in experienced hands.
Click here to start the conversation.
Matthew is the CEO of Evernest. He is a student of the book Good to Great and is passionate about building the best property management company on the planet (and maybe even the universe if Elon Musk will hurry up). You can usually find Matthew at the baseball field with his son, at a dance recital with his daughter, or at his favorite restaurant with his wife, when he’s not in the office. And if you can’t find him in any of those places, it probably means he’s traveling.
Start the conversation!