10 Reasons to Hire a Property Manager

10 Reasons to Hire a Property Manager

Investment real estate can be one of the most successful paths to wealth and financial security, and despite the market bubble burst of 2008/2009, real estate is still historically a safer investment than the stock market. If you already own income property you know it can be financially rewarding and you’re likely looking to grow your investment property portfolio. You’ve also likely discovered that managing real estate is more work than many financial investment options, it requires a significant commitment of one’s time and effort. As the old adage goes, “if it was easy, everyone would do it!”

The biggest hurdle people face in investment property is managing their properties and tenants – we’ve all heard the horror stories. While self-managing your properties may make sense in some scenarios: if you live locally, are a handy DIY’er, and have enough free time to devote a few hours each month; this approach is unpractical for most, especially if you hope to grow your investments beyond one or two properties.

A licensed, professional property manager becomes essential to effectively managing and maintaining your investment and here’s our take on “10 Reasons You Should Hire a Property Manager”:

  1. Make the most of your time: Managing property effectively is time consuming. Coordinating repairs, vendors, marketing, showings, screening applicants, leasing, collecting rent, chasing delinquent rent, managing maintenance, after-hours calls, processing deposits – this all takes time. A property manager can free up your time by taking these tasks off your hands. From there, you can work towards whatever means the most to you, whether it’s furthering your career, expanding your investment portfolio, or spending quality time with your family.
  2. Investing in properties outside of your geographic location: Smart investing means buying property in undervalued or highly desirable markets, and let’s face it, you may not live in that market. Managing from afar increases the difficulty of property management tenfold. Hiring a property manager means you have boots on the ground to respond quickly and in-person to anything that may come up.
  3. Accurate rental pricing: Today’s real estate market is fast paced and changes daily. Despite what Zillow and Trulia may say, Real Estate is hyper-local – prices fluctuate from neighborhood to neighborhood. Property managers check local market rent prices daily and will adjust advertising to reflect local market value, encourage rent increases whenever possible, and set a rental price to earn you more income by minimizing vacancy time. They’ll help ensure you’re not leaving money on the table by pricing too high or too low.
  4. Marketing and advertising rentals: A quality property manager will have a much greater reach to available prospects than an individual homeowner and – through marketing channels – many will have prospects lined up waiting. When, where, and how to advertise is vital to getting a property rented quickly. Sticking a For Rent sign in the yard just doesn’t cut it anymore.
  5. Securing QUALIFIED tenants: Self-managers may screen a portion of a prospect’s background, but a professional Property Manager will fully screen applicants’: background checks, their credit, eviction history, cross-check the sex offender registry, verify employment and income, and verify previous rental history; and do so legally and within Fair Housing guidelines. Adhering to strict application standards is the most successful way to ensure your property is cared for and avoid costly evictions and turnovers.
  6. Managing tenants: Along with securing qualified applicants, a quality Property Management firm will coordinate all logistics between landlord and tenant. A Property Manager will field routine and emergency maintenance calls and repairs, regularly inspect your property, and manage conflicts or violations when they arise.
  7. Collection of rental payments: No one wants to be a bill collector and rent collection is one area where self-managers struggle, demanding money from a late tenant can be a difficult and awkward conflict. Hiring a property manager ensures someone is actively collecting rent or pursuing delinquent tenants every single month. A property manager doesn’t get paid unless rent is collected.
  8. Vendor relationships: A successful Property Management company will have relationships with contractors and vendors that an individual homeowner can’t match. These relationships will mean repairs get completed quicker and typically for less money because so much work is passed from property manager to vendor.
  9. Compliance with house and property laws: Landlord tenant law changes frequently and is subject to Federal, State, and local legislature AND judges. Failing to abide by the regulations could cost you big-time. Some Fair Housing violations come with major fines, up to $100k! A property manager will help you wade through this mire of legality.
  10. Earn more income! Most Property Managers charge a percent of rent collected as their fee. Calculating your time savings, shorter vacancy times, higher rent prices, reduced vendor costs and smoother renter turnovers means a property manager can help you earn more income on each property while removing the burden of handling everything yourself.

We at Main Street Properties are confident we can do the above for you – give us a call today to discuss your rental property needs.

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