Property Management ATL

[Amina Sanders]

Hi BP!

My husband and his siblings inherited an SFH from their mother upon her passing in 2015. They've been using a local PM ( mom & pop type) for almost two years. The PM places tenants that are consistently late with rent and the current tenant has been month to month since March. He's unresponsive when my husband calls or emails, and the list goes on.

From listening to BP Podcasts for the past two years I know this is a recipe for the disaster. My husband's eldest sibling has finally allowed us to step in and manage the PM. So we're looking for a new one. 

The house is located in Stone Mountain, GA. If you have any referrals, recommendations, or advice it would be appreciated. 

Thanks!

Amina

[Robert Gilstrap]

@Amina Sanders@Frankie White **Disclaimer, I'm totally biased here **  but...it's almost laughable to me when I see posts that encourage self management over professional management. I get the rationality somewhat but I typically only see that when the person doesn't value their time or recognize their limitations. It's literally like a kid playing T-ball being compared to a major league player. Most owners who self manage "don't know what they don't know" and that is where the value of a professional comes in. A good manager will make or save you far more money than you ever pay them for their services.

Think about why you pay any professional; take landscaping for example. Anybody can cut their own grass right?  But what you can't do is cut it as fast or as good as a pro. Nor do you know the specifics about chemicals used to treat it, you likely don't have the mega expensive professional mower and other equipment they have, you don't have a crew of guys who can get it done in 30 minutes, etc.  Plus, you have to factor in the value of your time. What could you have been doing in income generating activity while you were fiddling around trying to learn the ropes of this other job? It took me years to figure out that the highest and most profitable use of my time was in making offers and doing deals not swinging hammers or dealing with tenants. I own a management company but even I don't manage my own properties!

Anyway my point is you can name an area of landlording and I can show you how a professional can run circles around a DIY landlord. I get clients everyday who self managed and beg me to fix what they screwed up because they tried to save a few dollars and ended up paying 2 or 3X's what they would have if they had of just taken the advice of a professional.