Three Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Property Management Company
Sometimes it's tough to be a landlord. You have to contend with the normal pressures of running a business and you have all of the property maintenance and management responsibilities of a typical homeowner. This can be difficult if you own only a single rental property, but it can quickly become overwhelming if you have multiple properties or units and a large number of tenants. Even if you are only responsible for a single property, you may still be considering a property manager to help ease some of the burden. While this isn't a decision to be entered into lightly, there are a number of questions that you can ask yourself to determine if the time is right to take this step.
Is Being a Landlord Your Only Gig?
Rental management is much easier when it's your only obligation. If you are a full-time landlord, then many of the tasks that you might require a property management company to handle are much simpler for you to tackle yourself. Of course, many landlords have multiple obligations. You may have a full-time job or you may run one or more other businesses aside from your rental properties. If this is the case, then hiring a company to manage your properties for you can help to ease your burden and allow you to focus your attention elsewhere.
Is Traveling to Your Properties a Significant Burden?
There's a difference between managing a rental property that's a few streets away from your home or workplace and managing a rental property that's several towns away. The situation gets even worse if you have multiple properties spread throughout a wide geographic area. Not only does traveling to your properties place a burden on you, but it also makes life harder for your tenants since it is difficult for you to respond to issues in a timely manner. Even if you feel like you have the situation under control, this is a great example of a scenario where professional property management may be a great choice.
Do You Manage a Large Number of Properties?
This is by far the most common reason that landlords seek help with rental management. If you have multiple rental properties or units, then sooner or later, you will almost certainly need help managing them. Having a company that monitors your properties and that can deal with marketing for open properties is extremely important to keep all of your units occupied and well-maintained.
Of course, every landlord and every rental property is unique, and only you can know for sure if the time has come to expand your business in this way. While some management companies charge fees of 5% or more, this cost is usually worth it to keep your tenants happy and your units occupied.
For more information on property management, contact a property management company.