There is really only one perk to self management, and that is saving on the monthly property management fee. Other than that, landlords who self manage get to look forward to dealing with maintenance calls, late rent, marketing their property and a whole host of landlord headaches. After hiring several of our competitors prior to starting this company, we understand how you might not see the value in hiring a property manager. We have had managers steal quarters from our laundry rooms, rent units for less than market and over pay family members to do repairs on our property. Why would anyone want to pay for service like that? We had no interest in paying a manager for that type of service, and neither should you. The fact is a good property manager will create more value than the cost of their fee.

As we said before, a good property manager will pay for themselves through value creation. Many of our clients have previously self-managed their properties and upon hiring us found their profitability increased while their headaches decreased. How is this possible? Simple, our expertise, network and processes help drive revenue and while managing costs. The fact of the matter is, someone who works a 9-5 office job does not have the time to effectively market their property to maximize revenue. See Previous Post On Leasing Strategies. We have found landlords who self manage are often uncomfortable raising their tenants rents. Over time this leads to rents that are even further below market. Maintenance is another area where owners who self manage leave money on the table. Because of volume and contractor relationships, we are able to get significant discounts that we pass on to our clients.

So to answer the question: self manage or hire a property manager, unless you are a full time real estate professional, we believe you are better off hiring a good property manager.