Should You Manage Your Own Rental Property?

Owning a rental property is a great way to generate income, and it can even help fund more extensive investments, securing your family’s financial future. Once you’ve purchased property, though, you’ll have to overcome a number of challenges as you get your rental plan off the ground – and one of the most important considerations is whether to manage your investment properties. 

If you’re planning to rent out a home for the first time, consider partnering with a property management group that can handle the day-to-day operations. While it may reduce your income a bit at first, in the long-term, having a strong property management plan can actually make your properties more valuable and give you a competitive edge.

The Problems With Self-Management

If you only own one or two rental properties, it can be tempting to try to manage them yourself. After all, how much work could it really be? The fact is, it’s a lot of work, and it requires a lot of specialized knowledge. More importantly, it’s a 24/7 job, and it can be legally risky to try to tackle such a significant project on your own.

By working with a property management company, you can take a step back from marketing the property, screening tenants, collecting rent, and managing repairs and other maintenance requests. Such an approach transforms your investment property into a source of passive income, and the money spent on management services will prove to be well worth it.

A Matter Of Infrastructure

Managing your own investment properties is a lot of work, but that’s not the only reason to outsource the task. Another reason to avoid managing your own property is because many of the central tasks require specialized technology, like accounting software and tenant portals. When you work with a property management company, though, they already have the necessary management infrastructure in place. That makes the technology itself more cost effective – one owner is using it for a variety of accounts – and you don’t have to tackle the learning curve involved in mastering these tools.

Alternative Approaches

Still not sure that you want to turn over the entire management process to a property management company? That’s okay, but it also doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself. Instead, you might benefit from trying a hybrid management structure.

In a hybrid management system, you split many of the core tasks of running a rental property with a property management company. Essentially, you can pick and choose from the services that the property management firm offers, taking on what you feel most comfortable with and outsourcing the rest. It’s a good way to make use of your skills and learn more about the management process overall. Hybrid management can also be a good first step for those who hope to grow their investment holdings, because once you have a larger number of properties, a property management company will be a necessity.

Support For Challenging Times

Whether or not you would typically opt to work with a property management firm, now is a good time to consider it as experts suspect it could be a less profitable year for rental properties. That means it’s uniquely important for you to have an experienced support system on your side. They’ll be able to guide you, manage pressing tenant issues, and help you maximize profit wherever possible. Yes, hiring others costs money, but it will likely save you money in the long-run.

Don’t let your first foray into the rental market as a landlord overwhelm you or trip you up. This should be an exciting experience that facilitates growth rather than sowing frustration and confusion. Get the support you need to succeed – you don’t have to do this alone.