There are both pros and cons for this decision. Because property management is not an easy task.

What does a property manager do?

Professional property managers have knowledge on how to manage your property. These are the many tasks they do monthly:

• Enforcement the property’s rules and regulation in case you have a tenant.
• Preparation, advertisement and showing of the rental unit.
• Preparation of regular accounting reports.
• Property inspection.
• Rent collection.
• Repair and maintenance of the property.
• Response to tenant complaints.
• Payment of taxes.

What are the PROs and CONs of self management?

If you have a second home or you bought a property as investment, you might feel tempted to manage it yourself and (in case your second home is far away) do it from distance. These are the benefits of self-management:

• Save on a (monthly) management fee.
• Save on maintenance costs as you can decide who does the repair work.

Disadvantages:

• You spend too much time managing your rental property, time you could invest in other activities.
• It could affect your day job and your relationships as you have to make enough time to manage unpredicted demands.
• If you live far away from your second home, you end up spending money and effort as you are not able to be there in case something happens (a roof leak, a broken pipe).

What are the benefits and disadvantages of hiring a property management company?

Benefits of hiring a asset management company:

• They have expertise and experience managing properties.
• They have knowledge about taxes and fees.
• They know how to handle tenants.
• In case of emergency repairs, they have staffing.
• They work with trusted people for repairs and maintenance.

Disadvantages of working with a asset management company:

• You need to pay a (monthly) fee.
• They could not care about your property as much as you do.
• Some property  management companies could surprise you with extra charges.

Now that you’ve seen the pros and cons and decided to hire a property management company, how can you find the right one for you?

How can you find the right property management company?

When searching for a management company, you want to ensure you find one that will deliver quality service and treat your property as their own.

Keep this in mind when you’re researching for a good property management company:

• Check references and testimonials. The people who already worked or are still working with them are the best source of information as they know the pros and cons of working with them.
• Make sure the company offers asset management services only as some real estate sales offices offer property management services in hope to get your business later on when you’re ready to sell the property. Meaning they don’t have the same credentials, experience and expertise as a property management company.

Considering all this, what do you prefer? Self-management or a property management company?

Do you have a property that needs to be managed? Contact us.