Moving from Property manager to doing it myself

JD MartinBusiness Member

Moderator

Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes

3mo

I have a house not far from you (Clermont area). There are a lot of scammers down there unfortunately.

So managing yourself is not really that hard. We've self-managed our portfolio from the beginning and if you develop systems and streamline things it almost (remember: almost) manages itself. Honestly, for two houses you don't need to pay for anything. You should be taking payments online anyway and there are a number of free services that you can use (example: Apartments dot com, Turbo Tenant, Zillow) to take online payments through bank ACH. Most everything else can be done with pretty simple spreadsheets. We used Excel for years until we got enough houses that it made sense to move to a software package.

Mostly what you need to do is standardize your processes. Standardize your leases, your methods of advertising, showing houses and procedures, rent collection, etc. Once you get those things solved a lot of things just end up on auto pilot and you fiddle with the knobs once in a while.

Getting good relationships with important vendors will make life a lot simpler. You need a good HVAC, plumber, pest control, roofer, electrician, and handyman. You're not going to be calling flooring contractors or drywall contractors on a regular basis. The ones you want to have regular relationships with are your emergency providers.

Podcast Guest on Show #243

Skyline Properties

View Page

3 Reply

Andrew C Pye
OP
Member since 2021 · 6 posts · 1 vote
3mo
Quote from @JD Martin:

I have a house not far from you (Clermont area). There are a lot of scammers down there unfortunately.
So managing yourself is not really that hard. We've self-managed our portfolio from the beginning and if you develop systems and streamline things it almost (remember: almost) manages itself. Honestly, for two houses you don't need to pay for anything. You should be taking payments online anyway and there are a number of free services that you can use (example: Apartments dot com, Turbo Tenant, Zillow) to take online payments through bank ACH. Most everything else can be done with pretty simple spreadsheets. We used Excel for years until we got enough houses that it made sense to move to a software package.
Mostly what you need to do is standardize your processes. Standardize your leases, your methods of advertising, showing houses and procedures, rent collection, etc. Once you get those things solved a lot of things just end up on auto pilot and you fiddle with the knobs once in a while.
Getting good relationships with important vendors will make life a lot simpler. You need a good HVAC, plumber, pest control, roofer, electrician, and handyman. You're not going to be calling flooring contractors or drywall contractors on a regular basis. The ones you want to have regular relationships with are your emergency providers.

Males sense. I was looking at that specifc one ust to streamline and because it has maintenance requests on it. at 12 bucks a month, a little peace of mind for making life easier and hard to forget things.
Clermont isnt far from leesburg, have any vendors that you would recommend? thats one of the things that i expect to be hardest. good help is hard to find.
0 Reply

Jojo Kamson

Property Manager · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2018 · 19 posts · 3 votes

3mo

From what you described, it sounds like the biggest issue wasn’t really the PM itself—it was lack of visibility into how maintenance, vendor decisions, and turnarounds were being managed.

Slow repairs, repeat visits, unnecessary upgrades, and communication delays usually point to workflow breakdown more than isolated vendor problems.

Self-managing can definitely solve some of that, but the biggest challenge becomes building a system that keeps maintenance requests, vendor coordination, and turnarounds organized as you scale.

Curious—of everything you mentioned, what created the most frustration: communication delays, maintenance approvals, or vendor quality control?

0 Reply

Andrew C Pye
OP
Member since 2021 · 6 posts · 1 vote
3mo
Quote from @Jojo Kamson:

From what you described, it sounds like the biggest issue wasn’t really the PM itself—it was lack of visibility into how maintenance, vendor decisions, and turnarounds were being managed.

Slow repairs, repeat visits, unnecessary upgrades, and communication delays usually point to workflow breakdown more than isolated vendor problems.

Self-managing can definitely solve some of that, but the biggest challenge becomes building a system that keeps maintenance requests, vendor coordination, and turnarounds organized as you scale.

Curious—of everything you mentioned, what created the most frustration: communication delays, maintenance approvals, or vendor quality control?

Quality control. The single largest incident was a trouble call for several power outlets being out in a kitchen. Vendors said that the wanted to change 4 gfcis, 2 light fixtures, and the main breaker panel. 9k.
im an electrician by trade, and asked for a better explanation because the problem would be either the outlets or the panel not both. Didn't get a clear answer. I changed the gfcis, and they worked. Other **** wasn't nessasary, they were just trying to screw me. Panel was kinda a POS and I changed it anyways cause I was there and already bought a replacement just in case.
the other is the repeat call for the ac. That's farther away so I can't just go do it myself as easily. When I complained in an email I was told they would "let management know my concerns". Not the right answer.
0 Reply
Jojo Kamson
Property Manager · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2018 · 19 posts · 3 votes
3mo
Quote from @Andrew C Pye:

Quote from @Jojo Kamson:

From what you described, it sounds like the biggest issue wasn’t really the PM itself—it was lack of visibility into how maintenance, vendor decisions, and turnarounds were being managed.

Slow repairs, repeat visits, unnecessary upgrades, and communication delays usually point to workflow breakdown more than isolated vendor problems.

Self-managing can definitely solve some of that, but the biggest challenge becomes building a system that keeps maintenance requests, vendor coordination, and turnarounds organized as you scale.

Curious—of everything you mentioned, what created the most frustration: communication delays, maintenance approvals, or vendor quality control?

Quality control. The single largest incident was a trouble call for several power outlets being out in a kitchen. Vendors said that the wanted to change 4 gfcis, 2 light fixtures, and the main breaker panel. 9k.
im an electrician by trade, and asked for a better explanation because the problem would be either the outlets or the panel not both. Didn't get a clear answer. I changed the gfcis, and they worked. Other **** wasn't nessasary, they were just trying to screw me. Panel was kinda a POS and I changed it anyways cause I was there and already bought a replacement just in case.
the other is the repeat call for the ac. That's farther away so I can't just go do it myself as easily. When I complained in an email I was told they would "let management know my concerns". Not the right answer.
That’s a great example of where the real issue isn’t just maintenance itself, it’s quality control and visibility around repair decisions.

A bad vendor recommendation is costly enough, but the bigger problem is when owners don’t have enough context to tell whether a repair is actually necessary or not.

The repeat AC issue sounds similar too — once problems keep resurfacing, it becomes hard to know whether the root cause was missed or the follow-through just broke down.

1 Reply
Andrew C Pye
OP
Member since 2021 · 6 posts · 1 vote
3mo
Quote from @Jojo Kamson:

Quote from @Andrew C Pye:

Quote from @Jojo Kamson:

From what you described, it sounds like the biggest issue wasn’t really the PM itself—it was lack of visibility into how maintenance, vendor decisions, and turnarounds were being managed.

Slow repairs, repeat visits, unnecessary upgrades, and communication delays usually point to workflow breakdown more than isolated vendor problems.

Self-managing can definitely solve some of that, but the biggest challenge becomes building a system that keeps maintenance requests, vendor coordination, and turnarounds organized as you scale.

Curious—of everything you mentioned, what created the most frustration: communication delays, maintenance approvals, or vendor quality control?

Quality control. The single largest incident was a trouble call for several power outlets being out in a kitchen. Vendors said that the wanted to change 4 gfcis, 2 light fixtures, and the main breaker panel. 9k.
im an electrician by trade, and asked for a better explanation because the problem would be either the outlets or the panel not both. Didn't get a clear answer. I changed the gfcis, and they worked. Other **** wasn't nessasary, they were just trying to screw me. Panel was kinda a POS and I changed it anyways cause I was there and already bought a replacement just in case.
the other is the repeat call for the ac. That's farther away so I can't just go do it myself as easily. When I complained in an email I was told they would "let management know my concerns". Not the right answer.
That’s a great example of where the real issue isn’t just maintenance itself, it’s quality control and visibility around repair decisions.

A bad vendor recommendation is costly enough, but the bigger problem is when owners don’t have enough context to tell whether a repair is actually necessary or not.

The repeat AC issue sounds similar too — once problems keep resurfacing, it becomes hard to know whether the root cause was missed or the follow-through just broke down.

After my first talk ever with the tenant, he said the AC has actually always messed up. And right after the person from the PM left it messed up again. Lovely stuff.
0 Reply
Jojo Kamson
Property Manager · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2018 · 19 posts · 3 votes
3mo
Quote from @Andrew C Pye:

Quote from @Jojo Kamson:

Quote from @Andrew C Pye:

Quote from @Jojo Kamson:

From what you described, it sounds like the biggest issue wasn’t really the PM itself—it was lack of visibility into how maintenance, vendor decisions, and turnarounds were being managed.

Slow repairs, repeat visits, unnecessary upgrades, and communication delays usually point to workflow breakdown more than isolated vendor problems.

Self-managing can definitely solve some of that, but the biggest challenge becomes building a system that keeps maintenance requests, vendor coordination, and turnarounds organized as you scale.

Curious—of everything you mentioned, what created the most frustration: communication delays, maintenance approvals, or vendor quality control?

Quality control. The single largest incident was a trouble call for several power outlets being out in a kitchen. Vendors said that the wanted to change 4 gfcis, 2 light fixtures, and the main breaker panel. 9k.
im an electrician by trade, and asked for a better explanation because the problem would be either the outlets or the panel not both. Didn't get a clear answer. I changed the gfcis, and they worked. Other **** wasn't nessasary, they were just trying to screw me. Panel was kinda a POS and I changed it anyways cause I was there and already bought a replacement just in case.
the other is the repeat call for the ac. That's farther away so I can't just go do it myself as easily. When I complained in an email I was told they would "let management know my concerns". Not the right answer.
That’s a great example of where the real issue isn’t just maintenance itself, it’s quality control and visibility around repair decisions.

A bad vendor recommendation is costly enough, but the bigger problem is when owners don’t have enough context to tell whether a repair is actually necessary or not.

The repeat AC issue sounds similar too — once problems keep resurfacing, it becomes hard to know whether the root cause was missed or the follow-through just broke down.

After my first talk ever with the tenant, he said the AC has actually always messed up. And right after the person from the PM left it messed up again. Lovely stuff.
That makes the root issue much clearer.
At that point it sounds less like a simple maintenance problem and more like a visibility and accountability issue across the repair process.
The frustrating part is usually not the first service call, it’s when multiple visits happen but nobody seems to fully diagnose or resolve the actual problem. That creates repeat costs, tenant frustration, and a lot of unnecessary back-and-forth.
Feels like recurring issues like this really expose how hard it is to track whether a repair was actually fixed versus just temporarily patched.

0 Reply
Andrew C Pye
OP
Member since 2021 · 6 posts · 1 vote
3mo
Quote from @Jojo Kamson:

Quote from @Andrew C Pye:

Quote from @Jojo Kamson:

Quote from @Andrew C Pye:

Quote from @Jojo Kamson:

From what you described, it sounds like the biggest issue wasn’t really the PM itself—it was lack of visibility into how maintenance, vendor decisions, and turnarounds were being managed.

Slow repairs, repeat visits, unnecessary upgrades, and communication delays usually point to workflow breakdown more than isolated vendor problems.

Self-managing can definitely solve some of that, but the biggest challenge becomes building a system that keeps maintenance requests, vendor coordination, and turnarounds organized as you scale.

Curious—of everything you mentioned, what created the most frustration: communication delays, maintenance approvals, or vendor quality control?

Quality control. The single largest incident was a trouble call for several power outlets being out in a kitchen. Vendors said that the wanted to change 4 gfcis, 2 light fixtures, and the main breaker panel. 9k.
im an electrician by trade, and asked for a better explanation because the problem would be either the outlets or the panel not both. Didn't get a clear answer. I changed the gfcis, and they worked. Other **** wasn't nessasary, they were just trying to screw me. Panel was kinda a POS and I changed it anyways cause I was there and already bought a replacement just in case.
the other is the repeat call for the ac. That's farther away so I can't just go do it myself as easily. When I complained in an email I was told they would "let management know my concerns". Not the right answer.
That’s a great example of where the real issue isn’t just maintenance itself, it’s quality control and visibility around repair decisions.

A bad vendor recommendation is costly enough, but the bigger problem is when owners don’t have enough context to tell whether a repair is actually necessary or not.

The repeat AC issue sounds similar too — once problems keep resurfacing, it becomes hard to know whether the root cause was missed or the follow-through just broke down.

After my first talk ever with the tenant, he said the AC has actually always messed up. And right after the person from the PM left it messed up again. Lovely stuff.
That makes the root issue much clearer.
At that point it sounds less like a simple maintenance problem and more like a visibility and accountability issue across the repair process.
The frustrating part is usually not the first service call, it’s when multiple visits happen but nobody seems to fully diagnose or resolve the actual problem. That creates repeat costs, tenant frustration, and a lot of unnecessary back-and-forth.
Feels like recurring issues like this really expose how hard it is to track whether a repair was actually fixed versus just temporarily patched.

Certainly. And when it is a vendor sent out by the property manager, it raises questions about their competence, or whether or not im simply being fleeced.
0 Reply

Drew SygitBusiness Member

Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes

3mo

Quote from @Andrew C Pye:

Due to having a bad experience with the property manager i have been using, I am looking at moving to managing places myself, and am looking for advice, vendor recommendations if anyone local has some good ones, or possible issues that people think i may run into.

My manager has had issues with slow turnarounds, long vacancies except when i said to price somewhere very inexpensive, not answering emails in a timely and consistent manner, doing repairs and upgrades during a turnaround taking longer than necessary, maintenance vendors insisting on things that aren't actually necessary ( think replace an electrical panel when there are just several bad outlets in a kitchen), and having to send a vendor out for the same problem repeatedly. Not great stuff, and i see no reason to be paying someone to give me headaches.

I am in the Lakeland area with one single family house that is on section 8 here, and one duplex in Leesburg. All are currently occupied. I am looking at house hopping and renting out the place i am currently living in, and dreading the turnaround. I work as an electrician at a factory so i do know tradesy people in this area. Leesburg I don't know people, and its a bit of a drive.

I am looking at using Stessa manage package as my software. My thinking is that having this to take care of payments and maintenance requests will keep my paperwork streamlined, and easy for everyone involved. Does anyone have and thoughts on this software as good/bad, pitfalls to watch out for, or that they have found it helpful?

Does anyone have any recommended vendors for electrical, AC, flooring, Handyman, plumbing, etc, etc in the Orlando or Lakeland area? I am looking to add names to my list of people i can trust when i call them.

Any thoughts on things i should be watching out for, or non obvious problems with what i have laid out so far?

I appreciate any ideas and thoughts. Thanks.

You may want to bribe @JD Martin to share more about his processes!

He didn't get into finding new tenants and potentially dealing with eviction issues.

[email protected]248-209-6824

Logical Property Management4.9451 Reviews

Website View Page

0 Reply

John Walbridge

Property Manager · Maitland, FL · Member since 2026 · 49 posts · 37 votes

3mo

Hey Andrew, your frustrations are completely valid — slow communication and vendor markup are two of the most common complaints I hear from landlords who've had bad PM experiences.

A few things worth knowing before you jump in, especially on the Florida law side:

When a tenant moves in, Florida law doesn't require you to rekey but it's one of the smartest decisions you'll make. You have no idea how many copies of that key exist from the previous tenant. Make it a non-negotiable part of your move-in process. You don't want to expose yourself to that kind of liability.

On security deposits, Florida has strict accounting deadlines. If you're making deductions, you have 30 days to send written notice of your intent to claim. If you're returning it in full, you only have 15 days. If you miss those windows you could forfeit your right to make any claim at all regardless of the damage.

For your Leesburg duplex specifically — since you don't have vendor relationships there yet — I'd build that list before you need it..

Stessa is solid for financials and rent collection. It has basic maintenance logging but it's not a true work order system — once you're juggling multiple vendors across multiple properties, you'll want something more robust for that piece specifically.

Good luck with the house hop — that transition is a lot smoother when the systems are in place before the new tenant moves in.

1 Reply

Jim Johnson

Real Estate Agent · Memphis · Member since 2026 · 549 posts · 318 votes

3mo

It sounds like you've already identified the biggest issue: the management fee wasn't buying you less work—it was buying you different headaches.

Looking at your situation, a few things stand out:

Strengths

• Small portfolio size
• Properties already occupied
• Trade background
• Existing network of contractors in your area
• Familiarity with maintenance and repair work

Things I'd focus on before making the transition

• Building a reliable vendor list for each trade
• Creating a documented process for maintenance requests
• Having a turnover checklist ready before the next vacancy
• Understanding Section 8 inspection and communication requirements
• Establishing expectations for tenant communication and response times

One thing I've noticed is that software rarely solves operational problems by itself. The owners who seem to have the smoothest self-management experience have clear workflows first and software second.

For example:

Maintenance request comes in

→ Determine urgency

→ Assign vendor

→ Confirm appointment

→ Verify completion

→ Close out documentation

Having that process documented often matters more than which platform you're using.

The other thing I'd be careful about is the Leesburg property. Distance tends to magnify every problem. Even if Lakeland is easy because of your local contacts, I'd make sure you have dependable people in Leesburg before the first emergency call comes in.

Based on what you've described, self-managing doesn't sound unreasonable at all. With three units and a trades background, you're probably in a better position than many owners who successfully self-manage much larger portfolios. The biggest risk isn't the software—it's making sure you have strong vendor relationships and repeatable systems before the next turnover or maintenance issue hits.

1 Reply

Andrew C Pye
OP
Member since 2021 · 6 posts · 1 vote
3mo
Quote from @Jim Johnson:

It sounds like you've already identified the biggest issue: the management fee wasn't buying you less work—it was buying you different headaches.
Looking at your situation, a few things stand out:
Strengths

• Small portfolio size
• Properties already occupied
• Trade background
• Existing network of contractors in your area
• Familiarity with maintenance and repair work

Things I'd focus on before making the transition

• Building a reliable vendor list for each trade
• Creating a documented process for maintenance requests
• Having a turnover checklist ready before the next vacancy
• Understanding Section 8 inspection and communication requirements
• Establishing expectations for tenant communication and response times
One thing I've noticed is that software rarely solves operational problems by itself. The owners who seem to have the smoothest self-management experience have clear workflows first and software second.
For example:

Maintenance request comes in

→ Determine urgency

→ Assign vendor

→ Confirm appointment

→ Verify completion

→ Close out documentation

Having that process documented often matters more than which platform you're using.
The other thing I'd be careful about is the Leesburg property. Distance tends to magnify every problem. Even if Lakeland is easy because of your local contacts, I'd make sure you have dependable people in Leesburg before the first emergency call comes in.

Based on what you've described, self-managing doesn't sound unreasonable at all. With three units and a trades background, you're probably in a better position than many owners who successfully self-manage much larger portfolios. The biggest risk isn't the software—it's making sure you have strong vendor relationships and repeatable systems before the next turnover or maintenance issue hits.

I definitely agree. I gotta contact the section 8 people and see what exactly they will need, i do have a name and phone number for a contact there. I do have a light business background, thats what i went to school for, good ol GI bill. That and i work at a factory so i am used to processes. Good times. Just getting my crap together before I kick these people to the curb. Probably gonna be waiting for next month for that. make sure im fully ready to take over on a moments notice and ready to go.

I am looking forward to my returns going up by not having to worry about that 8%. fingers crossed this goes well.
0 Reply

Rachid AbadliBusiness Member

Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2024 · 129 posts · 36 votes

3mo

The $9K electrician quote when you only needed outlet repairs — that's exactly the kind of thing that makes self-managing worth it when you actually know your properties. You've got an advantage most landlords don't: you can evaluate whether a vendor is padding a scope.

Two things I'd focus on for day one:

Set up a maintenance intake system before your first request comes in. Doesn't matter if it's an app, a Google Form, or a dedicated email — just make sure tenants submit requests in writing with photos. When you're self-managing, the biggest risk isn't the repair itself, it's the "I told you about that leak three months ago" conversation with no paper trail. Written requests with timestamps eliminate that.
Build your vendor list by trade, not by urgency. Right now you need Leesburg-area contractors — start calling before you need them. Get at least two options for HVAC, plumbing, and general handyman. When something breaks at 10 p.m., you don't want to be Googling. JD's list above is exactly right.

On Stessa — it's solid for financial tracking and tax prep, but it's light on the operational side (maintenance workflows, tenant communication, lease tracking). If your main pain with the PM was vendor management and slow turnarounds, make sure whatever tool you pick actually handles work orders, not just bookkeeping.

What does your Section 8 inspection timeline look like? That's one area where documentation matters even more than usual — HUD wants records.

LeaseBase.ai

View Page

1 Reply

Jon Westrom

Property Manager · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2014 · 77 posts · 29 votes

3mo

I hear this story more than I should... slow turnarounds, vendors recommending work that doesnt need to happen, nobody answering emails. That's not property management, that's just collecting a check. Before you go full DIY, I'd ask yourself one question: is the industry broken or did you just get the wrong company? Thirty years in this business and I can tell you the difference between a PM who protects your investment and one who just occupies the role is massive. If you ever want to talk through what good actually looks like, happy to share what we've built.

0 Reply

Andrea Fernandes

Specialist · Goa, India · Member since 2026 · 175 posts · 36 votes

2mo

Following the AC situation — that's a really common failure point, and it's less about the initial repair and more about the confirmation step. A lot of self-managers set up intake (Rachid's point) but don't build in a close-out step: photo of the completed work, plus checking back with the tenant 5-7 days later to confirm it actually held. Without that, "fixed" just means the vendor left, not that the problem's gone. That gap is usually where repeat calls hide — the vendor's incentive is to leave, not necessarily to have solved it.

For 2-3 units, this doesn't need to be anything fancy — even a note in your calendar to text the tenant a week after any repair works fine at this scale.

0 Reply

Giuseppe Cavucci

online · Member since 2026 · 99 posts · 44 votes

2mo

Being an electrician is a real advantage here, you'll catch bad vendor recommendations on your own systems way faster than most self-managers can. Stessa is solid for what you're describing, it's free and handles income/expense tracking well without being overkill for two properties.

One gap Stessa and most similar tools don't cover: planning ahead for full system replacements rather than just tracking expenses as they happen. Worth logging install dates and expected lifespan on the roof, water heater, and HVAC for both properties now while you're setting everything up fresh, so you're not caught reactive on the bigger ticket items the way your PM apparently was with routine repairs. Good time to build that habit is right at the start of self-managing, not after the first surprise bill.

0 Reply

Joel Taiwo

Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 0 votes

2d

Andrew, really appreciate the detail here — the $9k electrician quote and the repeat AC call are exactly the kind of thing I'm trying to understand. I'm building a simple tool that flags when a maintenance request goes quiet or isn't confirmed fixed, so it doesn't slip through the way it did with your old PM. Not selling anything, just trying to learn from people going through this for real — curious how you're planning to track that stuff now that you're self-managing?

0 Reply

Moving from Property manager to doing it myself

Moving from Property manager to doing it myself

Most Popular Reply

18 Replies