Hiring a Property Manager vs. Self-Managing: What’s Better?
Key Takeaways
- Rental properties can generate steady income and long-term wealth through appreciation, but they require active oversight.
- Self-managing gives you full control and saves money, but demands 24/7 availability, strong people skills, and knowledge of law and the market.
- Common self-management challenges include difficult tenants, rent collection issues, legal risks, and higher vacancy rates due to inexperience.
- Hiring a property manager costs money but saves time, improves efficiency ensures better upkeep and rent collection, and increases tenant satisfaction.
Renting out a property can be the perfect way to earn some extra cash and build your wealth over time. Rental properties generate a steady stream of income month after month.
Moreover, they tend to appreciate over time, meaning your wealth and equity will grow the longer you hold onto the property.
The big question you have to ask yourself is whether you can become a landlord alone. Managing a rental property can be as time-consuming as a full-time job and requires a sound understanding of the local rental laws and current market trends.
If you’re wondering whether you should partner with a property manager or handle everything by yourself, you’ve come to the right place!
In this guide, the team at Limehouse Property Management will analyze the benefits and drawbacks of self-managing and how that compares to hiring a property manager.
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The Pros and Cons of Self-Managing
If you’re an independent person, you’ll probably want to manage your rental property without any help.
This offers several advantages such as having more control over your investment, taking on a more hands-on approach in its management, and learning a lot about property management.
However, self-management can also come with some challenges, such as the following:
Around-the-Clock Availability
When you’re the only person responsible for managing a rental property, you need to be on call 24/7. This can make it incredibly difficult to juggle other responsibilities, hobbies, or social commitments.
Dealing with Difficult Tenants
Being a landlord requires good people skills as you’ll be dealing with different kinds of people.
You also need to learn how to deal with sometimes sensitive issues related to the rental as you’ll have to charge late fees, hear complaints, mediate disputes, and deal with many other issues at one point or another.
Rent Collection Issues
Collecting rent is not always an easy task. Some tenants may consistently pay late or fail to make payments at all, requiring you to spend more time sending reminders or pestering tenants for payments.
If that’s not something you want to do, then you should consider hiring a property manager.
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Legal Challenges
Landlords are required to comply with a series of legal regulations. Noncompliance can lead to hefty fines, early lease termination, or lawsuits. If you’re not well-versed in the local rental laws, you may want to partner with a professional.
Increased Vacancies
Property managers know the rental market like the palm of their hand. This is incredibly helpful when writing a listing or trying to fill vacancies.
When you self-manage, you risk writing an unappealing listing, not replying to inquiries fast enough, and wasting money and time on marketing that gets no leads. This all can lead to longer vacancies and a reduced bottom line.
Limited Industry Knowledge
Having lived in a city for several years doesn’t mean that you automatically understand the ins and outs of the local real estate market.
Unless you’ve worked in the industry before, chances are you’ll lack the key real estate knowledge needed to rent your rental or navigate the complexities of a lease.
The Pros and Cons of Hiring a Property Management Company
More often than not, first-time landlords decide against hiring a property manager. While it’s true that property management doesn’t come for free, the actual cost of it is minimal compared to all the time and resources you’ll save.
Another common drawback landlords see to hiring a property manager is hiring someone who does a bad job. But this can be easily solved by looking at online reviews and partnering with a reputable and reliable company.
Hiring a property manager can have plenty of benefits, including:
Time Savings
The experts will handle all the tasks of your rental, including marketing the unit, screening tenants, coordinating maintenance and repairs, collecting rent, and creating detailed financial reports.
This will free up your time so you can focus on other important aspects of your life and your business.
Peace of Mind
Why worry about marketing your property, screening tenants, writing a lease, or collecting rent when someone else can do it for you? A seasoned property manager will help you streamline the operation of your rental while giving you peace of mind.
Easier Property Upkeep
Property managers have the time and resources to schedule your property regularly, helping you spot issues before they turn into big, costly repairs.
They often have a 24/7 maintenance line tenants can call whenever something breaks. This ensures your property is in good condition at all times!
Streamlined Rent Collection
Property managers often have several tools in place to avoid late payments, including automatic reminders and online payment portals.
If that fails, they can help you chase down tenants, issue payment notices, collect late fees, or take any other necessary measures to ensure you get paid.
Simplified Bookkeeping
If you’re tired of doing bookkeeping or preparing detailed financial reports, a property manager is a great investment. Most companies use digital tools to keep all your invoices and payments in one place.
Additionally, some companies create detailed financial statements for you at the end of every month. This makes it easier to know how your investment is performing.
Increased Tenant Satisfaction
Property managers have more time and resources to handle problems or respond to inquiries more quickly which makes a huge difference for tenants.
Bottom Line
Self-managing can be great if you already have some property management experience and want to save some cash.
If this is your first time managing a rental, you have limited availability, or you simply don’t want to be on call 24/7, then you should consider hiring a property manager.
Partnering with a reliable company can be exactly what you need to take your property into a profitable business.
If you’re looking for a trusted property management company in Virginia Beach or the surrounding areas, contact Limehouse Property Management!