Self-Managing vs PM

[Patricia Keely]

For investors/owners who’ve tried both self-managing and using a property manager.  What ultimately made you switch (or stick with self-management)?

Was it time, scale, stress level, cost, or something else?

[Drew Sygit]

Quote from @Patricia Keely:

For investors/owners who’ve tried both self-managing and using a property manager.  What ultimately made you switch (or stick with self-management)?

Was it time, scale, stress level, cost, or something else?

 Many landlords site cost savings for DIY management.

Others are correct in stating, "no one will manage your property like you", which can be both good & bad.

DIY Management Strengths
- Immediate decision making
- Monitoring EVERYTHING as only a few doors
- Relatively easy on Class A rentals, progresively gets harder with CLass B, then C, then D

Weaknesses
- May not have time to consistently monitor what's important
- May not have the expertise to avoid Fair Housing issues, professional tenants, etc.
- May not have the systems to avoid major issues

PMC Strengths
- Multiple admin staff to better handle workload
- More expertise (if you hire right PMC)
- Have the "density" to invest in systems to get rentals more marketing exposure, better vendor pricing, better tenant screening tools, better delinquency solutions, etc.

Weaknesses
- May not pay attention to same metrics as owner
- Getting more & more difficult for one person to know everything about 100+ doors
- Bigger companies=> more red tape and right hand not knowing what left hand doing