For landlords who’ve considered hiring a PM…

[Melanie Turner]

For owners who have thought about hiring a property manager at some point — what ultimately pushed you toward it, or what made you decide to keep self-managing?

Was it a specific issue (tenant, maintenance, time, compliance), or just a slow build of small things?

I’m genuinely curious how that decision point looks for different landlords, especially in Georgia.

Always helpful to hear what actually matters to owners when they’re weighing the pros and cons.

— Melanie

[Melanie Thomas]

Before I became a professional property manager myself, the biggest factor for me was actually what I didn’t know. I could handle the basics, but the legal and compliance side was where things started to feel risky.

Property code requirements, fair housing, notice timelines, lease language, and all the small technical details that can turn into big problems if you miss them. That’s ultimately what pushed me to stop self-managing. One mistake can easily cost more than a year of management fees.

It wasn’t one dramatic tenant issue. It was the realization that the exposure was real, the rules change, and I didn’t want to learn those lessons the hard way. Good luck & happy investing!