Property Management in Columbus, OH?

Question

Hi all!

First time poster and new to the REI journey. I've been house hacking my current residence by renting out rooms for the past 3 years and I love this wealth-creation strategy to build my portfolio!

I'm looking to buy a second home to house hack and I'm wondering if I should continue to rent my original primary residence myself and self-manage (which I would intend to turn into a full home rental) or if I should pursue a property management company to help me. I'm just south of Easton area and I believe the neighborhood already has a fair number of house rentals in the area (I see them go on market and they usually rent within a few weeks), so I wouldn't expect it to be too hard to find a good tenant, and I have the time and resources at this point where I could probably self-manage. However, I want to consider all my options and make sure I'm making the right decision. If the benefits of property management outweigh the costs, I think it's worth considering.

Does anyone have any good referrals for property managers in the area based on my situation? Also, any advice on self-managing vs. using a property manager this early on? What's a realistic expectation for property management expenses on just one investment property (I read 8 - 12%, but I don't really know if that's true for your very first official rental property)? Any and all input is definitely appreciated!

Account Closed · Answer

@Trevor Walsh Hello Trevor I'm an out of state real estate investor that just recently bought my second property in Columbus Ohio. I've have had great luck with https://roostrealestateco.com/I highly recommend their service and they seem to thrive in B/C neighborhoods. They've been very transparent and have done a great job managing my properties. They're very responsive when I call and have handled everything from evictions to turns for me. I highly recommend that you reach out to Helen Nilsson@ roost. I would use them even if I lived in Columbus. I hope this is helpful and feel free to contact me with any further questions.

Stephen Brown · Answer

I'd speak with @Remington Lyman, @Zeke Liston, or @Brandon Goldsmith about this. When selecting a property management team, make sure that they have the capacity to take on more units and that they provide all the services you want.

Remington Lyman · Answer

I would recommend that you continue to self-manage. You save a lot of money and learn a lot. I self-manage my units here in Columbus, Ohio. I started off house hacking just like you did. I also tried to use several PMs and just ended up taking the business back.

Brandon Sturgill · Answer

@Trevor Walsh I would respectfully dissent from the folks here...the first 3-4 years spent managing my own properties seemed to go really well until a tenant I had in a SFR for 3-years did not pay rent for over 2 months...the property was on cruise and I lost sight...to compound this, most investors will tell you they are making X% ROI on their rentals (or whatever metric), but can't quantify it...this is where a PM can set you straight...I can guarantee the claimed performance of investors properties and actual performance are 2 very different things.

The truth of the matter is an excellent property manager will run the property much better than you and be able to increase rents to build in that 8% PM rate...they will also permit you to focus on growth, not managing property...

If you want to grow, get your properties handed off to a top notch PM asap.

If you are buying in C-class locations, you will not be able to recruit a top-notch PM...you'll be client number 2,001....and if you are spending all your time managing your property manager, you should have just managed it yourself the whole time.

In agreement with the folks above, self-managing is priceless for education.

Best of luck

Brandon Goldsmith · Answer

There are several good ones in Columbus, but if you only have a few units it might be better to just invest in some PM software and sub-contract out some of the maintenance requests. Once you get too many units to handle then that is when you hand them all off. @Trevor Walsh

Account Closed · Answer

My experience is exactly the opposite. C class is where the PM earns their keep. A class they just collect rent and charge you 10% for that privilege. All PMs love A class property. High rents mean high commissions. And very low effort. Unless you have a large portfolio there is no sense in using a PM for an A class property. But managing even one C class is gong to be more headache than its worth.

Brandon Sturgill · Answer

Good perspective Account Closed

Jonathan Styer · Answer

Account Closed You're gonna make us blush.

Jonathan Pavkov · Answer

With a small operation, you should consider managing yourself. I had 1 duplex and I turned it over to a property manager and the experience was terrible. Now, I'm scaling, and will at some point hire a pm, but not worth the risk of someone without equity running your investment. Best of luck!

Ryan Mainwaring · Answer

Second this advice

Property Management in Columbus, OH?

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