What tips a self-managing investor to the point of seeking a property management company?
Hi, all! I'm an investor with about 30 of my own properties and about another 270 under management in my PM company. We began an integrated marketing plan a few months ago to try to find new investors who need PM, and we keep coming back to this question of psychology in our strategy discussions: What makes a self-manager decide they want to outsource management of their properties?
I know the answer is different for everyone. We've had new clients say it was a volume issue - they just couldn't handle management after a certain number of acquisitions. We've had people say life circumstances changed and they just didn't have the time to devote to management any longer (and do a good job). And so on.
Since I manage my own properties via my company and never made that switch myself, I'd appreciate hearing input from self-managing investors about whether they've thought about outsourcing, what would make them switch and necessarily give up a slice of cash flow, whether they've just done what I did and decided to open a PM company, and any other thoughts you might have.
Thanks!
David Panzera, Panzera Realty