While owning a rental property is a dream for many ambitious investors, being a landlord can sometimes be more a curse than a blessing. It’s one thing to buy a property and rent it out. But it’s another thing to be at the beck and call of tenants who want what they want immediately.
The good news is you don’t have to do everything yourself. If you’d rather not spend every waking hour tethered to your investment property, it might make sense to get help.
Keep reading to see seven signs that you might be better off outsourcing landlord responsibilities to a property management firm rather than trying to shoulder landlord duties independently.
You Don’t Fancy Being a Landlord
Just because you want to own an investment property doesn’t necessarily mean you want to be a landlord. For many property owners, landlord duties can be more trouble than they’re worth.
Managing your rental property means screening tenants, advertising vacant units, addressing tenant concerns, collecting rent, arranging maintenance and repairs, setting rental rates, and more. Being a landlord is like a regular 9-to-5 job — with overtime on top of that.
Unless you thrive on stretching yourself thin and handling everything yourself, consider hiring a property manager. Doing so will make the load much lighter and the ownership experience more pleasant.
Your Rental Property Is Out of Town
Another reason to hire a property manager is if your rental property is out of town. It’s hard enough having to be a landlord — let alone having to do so for a property in another city.
Rather than having to commute to your investment property every time there’s an issue, hire a property management firm near your rental unit.
If you have issues like late payment or need to screen tenants, you can’t effectively handle that yourself over the phone.
You need to be onsite to speak with the tenant or applicant face-to-face. One way to keep things simple is to outsource landlord duties to property manager.
You’re Expanding Your Portfolio
Hiring a property manager also makes sense if you add to your real estate portfolio. You might feel comfortable handling one property by yourself.
But if you decide to add more real estate to your collection of rental properties, can you handle it all? It might make sense to get help.
Consider that you don’t have to outsource everything if you don’t want to. There might be aspects of being a landlord that you enjoy or want to do yourself.
But there may also be things you don’t like doing or don’t have the time to do. A property manager can step in to assist.
You’re Having a Hard Time With Current Tenants
If you’re having trouble with tenants and don’t know what to do, a property management firm can help.
Whether tenants are late with rent, won’t pay rent at all, defy your rules, or terrorize other tenants or neighbors, you might be unable to fix the situation independently. Instead of biting off more than you can chew, you can hire a property manager to restore order out of chaos.
The service provider can follow up with non-compliant tenants, file for eviction if notices aren’t honored, and help you screen new tenants. Having a property manager serve as the landlord or take on some of those duties will make life easier and ensure the passive income keeps coming.
You’re Having Trouble Finding Contractors and Vendors
Another reason to contact a property manager is if you’re having trouble finding skilled contractors and reliable vendors.
You might not know where to start or how to know you’re working with the right contractors or getting the best materials at the most reasonable prices.
A property manager will have contacts among contractors and vendors, so you can count on the service provider to find the right workers and materials at the best prices. You won’t have to do the leg work since the service provider will handle the logistics.
You’re Stretched Out Too Thin
If you have enough on your plate as it is, it might be hard to assume landlord duties. Having a regular job, taking care of family, and ensuring you take care of your needs means that you might be stretching yourself out too thin by adding to your to-do list.
Owning a rental property is hard work when you consider the time and effort required to care for tenants and ensure your investment property remains in a good state of repair. You might have to spend as much time at the rental property as at home or work.
Hiring a property management firm means you won’t have to wear too many hats and take on too many responsibilities.
You Know What You Don’t Know
Another sign you may need a property management firm is if you realize there’s a lot you don’t know about maintaining a rental property. Are you worried about handing the keys to the wrong tenants?
You can hire a property manager to screen applicants and find the right ones. There’s a science to it, so the last thing you should do is hastily choose someone and hope for the best.
Can you keep up with maintenance and repairs? You need to know when and how to perform upkeep on your rental property.
Otherwise, the property value appreciation can tank. When hiring a property manager, you can rest assured that your investment property will be cared for.
The service provider can create a schedule for maintenance and repairs, and find skilled contractors and reputable vendors to get the help and materials you need at fair prices.
There’s No Need to Go It Alone
Can you relate to any of these five scenarios? If so, you need to consider hiring a property manager.
While some rental property owners will insist on doing everything independently, there are some reasons to retain the services of a property manager for the help you need.
