You already know that real estate is a good investment. Why wouldn’t you buy a property if someone else can pay off the mortgage for you? But you also know (and have heard) that some tenants can come straight from hell – and you don’t want to experience that when you’re using these properties to build wealth. So how do you keep your property management costs low, without doing everything yourself?
We’ve got tips and tricks for you (including when you should hire a property manager), below.
Should You Hire a Company or Do it Yourself?
This is the question most beginning real estate investors ask themselves and the answer depends on a few different things.
First, how close do you live to the property? If you’ve bought a property within the city you live in and are retired or make your own hours, then you can likely handle the property management of one home.
But if you live in New York, for example, and have a rental property in central California, then trying to do it yourself is going to be a bigger headache than it’s worth.
Second, do you have the skills it takes to be a property manager? Not only do you have to have basic fix-it skills, but you need to know how to handle large sums of money, and provide timely customer service. If you’re too busy to respond to your tenant within an hour, then a management service is the right choice for you.
… But What Does a Property Management Company Do?
That’s a good question. A property manager is your eyes and ears on the ground when it comes to your central California property. Not only do they collect rent and create lease agreements for your current tenants, but they can help you find new tenants and even sell your property if the time is right.
Property managers can also deal with repairs, both emergency and normal property breakdown issues, including contracting landscapers, etc.
The Big Question: Is it Worth the Cost?
When you buy a rental property you’re making a big investment, so it’s understandable that you’d want to keep as much of your profit as possible. But think about how quickly your investment value would deteriorate if you didn’t take care of that property for just a year.
If you aren’t nearby to do what needs to be done, the repairs needed on the property will exceed the cost of a property manager in a shorter amount of time than you can imagine.
So sure, you can try to do it on your own – but are you paying yourself for the time you’re spending? Probably not.
Finding the Best Property Managers
Now that you’ve got the details about whether or not you need someone to help with your investment homes, let’s talk about finding the perfect property management company.
You want to find someone that has a history in the area, has a large range of services (from sales, to day-to-day management), and establish a relationship with them.
You may never meet them if you’re out of state, but you’ll get to know them through working with them. Do yourself a favor and schedule a meeting with our legendary property managers.