Property Manager Vs. Personal Assistant - Which is Better?

[Shiloh Lundahl]

I recently read a post touting how using a property manager is better than managing ones own properties based on a property managers skill level and experience. But I am of the belief that once an investor gets to a certain number of units, having a personal assistant is much better than having a property manager. Here are some of my reasons why:

1. Goals are aligned - a property manager gets paid more with turn over and repairs while an assistant is not incentivized through turn overs or repairs.

2. An assistant can focus solely on my properties rather than get distracted by being in charge of 50 other investors’ properties.

3. An assistant can help manage acquisitions and oversee and manage rehabs which is usually not something a property manager does.

4. A property manager gets paid on every property, regardless of whether they had to do anything with the property or not. A personal assistant that gets paid by the hour only gets paid for what they actually do.

5. Communication with a personal assistant is much more direct and quicker than calling a property management company and talking with an employee who works for the property management company that you may not know and that may not know any details about your specific properties or tenants other than what may be written in the notes on their property management software.

NOTE: This post is not meant to offend any property managers or owners of property management companies. I have several friends who are property managers. And when you have only a few properties and you want them to be as passive as possible then using a property management company makers sense. However, when an investor is serious about scaling past 10, 20 or 50 properties, a personal assistant makes a world of difference and is much more helpful than a property manager. What say you?