Rental Property Investor · Uxbridge, MA · Member since 2017 · 49 posts · 12 votes
Greetings BP community,
What are some reasons that make landlord's delay hiring a property manager? What are the things you would need to see in order to justify the ROI of management?
obviously giving up a huge percentage of my profits is the main issue , the other is that it’s not really necessary if your local to your investments. The reality is no one or company is going to take care or look after your investments better than you will . Think of it this way ....If I only get to keep 25% of the rents I’m sure as $&@ not going to split that with a company that posts a notice on the door or calls a handyman when I’m the shmuck who paid all the money did all the work and took all the risk to get the property as mine
I can tell you what's making me want to take my properties back from an excellent PM that has been with me for 6 years. He is unashamed and uncompromising in getting the high quality vendors. He isn't that concerned about getting me the best deal. Otherwise he is great.
Most of the reasons I know is the fee. They usually charge a big amount of service fee which is not value for money. And sometimes it is because the property managers don’t manage well.
Some landlords are frustrated by their property managers'poor communication, especially if they do not understand the reasons behind the manager's decision. Since landlords can only earn marginal cash flows, managers'fees can reduce their profits. This is the importance of communication for a property manager. It all depends on the region, property and landlord.
I haven't hired a pm because I don't need one. I renovate each home new appliances etc so I have very few repairs. I hire an agent to show the properties so I get to keep my time. I have my list of vendors I call should I need to. I have form letters for all legal issues and can e file evictions from the comfort of my living room. I spent a total of 20 hours last year managing 6 of my properties and 4 of my partners. I honestly believe that a good property manager is worth it but too many simply aren't. When taking that chance costs me time and money forget it. I will wait until i have my first appartment complex and hire one then.
I inherited a property management company for my LTR, the first year we owned. I found communication was poor and I still was chasing people down and taking care of things on my own. All for the low, low price of 10% of the rent. I couldn't get rid of them fast enough.
For me, the work they do would not be worth the cost.
My properties rent within days of vacancy, all of my payments and maintenance requests are handled online, and I have the people needed in the case that maintenance is needed.
I, literally, spend less than an hour per month for my 2 rentals, so paying a few hundred dollars for an hour per month, and a full months fee for something I can complete in a weekend, is not worth it for me.
Thank you all for your input and different perspectives!
As investors, we manage property like we own them to ensure that our interests are aligned with the property owner's. With each decision we make on behalf of our clients, we are looking to justify the ROI vs cost.
We find most of the PM "competition" in our area are charging exorbitant rates while missing the key components of the job... integrity and long term relationships!
For us, it's not about whacking our clients with big bills to get a small pay today. It's about helping them grow their portfolio, so we can all enjoy more cash flow tomorrow. We spread out the cost of capex and have an in house crew to keep costs low and speed of service fast and consistent in quality. Protect the asset and justify the ROI.
We find that when we take care of our clients and help their portfolio grow while saving them time and money that our business grows exponentially. At Silver Linings Management, we are working our hardest to raise the bar on property management.
Thank you so much for sharing your opinions and experiences here. Best of luck with your investing success!