property management company -- is it worth it?

[Katie Andrews]

Hi all,

I'm Katie, new to BP, and a full-time English teacher, soon to be a landlord.  I'm also a traveler.  A few times a year, I go out of town for up to a month at a time in summer, a couple of weeks in winter, as well as a week for spring break.  I live in Los Angeles, but all my family is in Louisiana, and I like to go to different countries (26 so far!).

I'm wondering since I'm extremely new to being a landlord, and a traveler, plus a full-time teacher, if hiring a property management company is worth it.  I'm leaning toward yes, it's worth it, since I don't know much at the point about being a landlord, and I travel.  I'm also super busy at work.

Any thoughts, suggestions, anecdotes, etc., are much appreciated.  Thanks.

[Jeff B.]

There are two obvious reasons for YES:

1. it's a new game for you and you will need time to get up to speed attempting self-management
2. like so many decisions we make; a single choice FOR x, is immediately a NAY choice for all other alternatives.

Choosing to self-manage would obviously severely impact your ability to travel.

The big NO is always the impact upon your NOI/ROI for the investment. A secondary no is your loss of control of the tenants and maintenance.