GC/Project Manager, Property Manager, Or Both with a W2

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GC/Project Manager, Property Manager, Or Both with a W2

Matthew KlinePro Member
Rental Property Investor · Huntington, IN · Member since 2021 · 5 posts · 0 votes

Sorry for the long post in advance.

I work about 30 hours a week right now so that I can spend more time at home with our two babies and also manage renovations and property management for our 5 rentals. (Doing one renovation at a time right now even though I have 3 that need done in order to be rented. This is due to a little bit of time constraints but mostly liquidity and lack of good contractors/companies or at least lack of being able to find them.) I have been leaning towards starting a property management company for my own long term rentals and to, in the future, take on other investors rentals. The goal being to provide good housing and relations while earning a little bit more from the rentals with management fees.

Another opportunity I have to make a little extra money from the rentals is this,

I have recently been working with an amazing contractor I did manage to find who is talking with me about becoming a general contractor myself and/or really just learning project management with him (he said I don’t need to be licensed where I am in Indiana). We can use our crews we pickup on my real estate deals and keep our crews busy with other jobs when I don’t have a deal to work on.

I could, in time, learn pricing for virtually every aspect of renovations and the order in which to prioritize. While simultaneously earning a commission when bidding other jobs.

My question is for anyone who has taken on either of these two aspects themselves or maybe both. I want to do both and feel that I would be a better investor if I could learn the ins and outs of both property management and the rehab side better. And I can capitalize monetarily either way I go.

Would I be setting myself up to get burnt out or just strung out and stressed out if I went for both while still working my W2? Which way would be better to go from your experience if I did pick one.

Real estate is a big part of my dreams and so I will push through a lot of hardship, but I don’t want to over burden my family with me being exhausted or overly stressed. I know there are less stressful ways out there like Dion with the binder strategy and his way of doing things.

Keep in mind that while yes I want to minimize time and ATTENTION away from my amazing wife and our 1 and 2 year old. My wife is a nurse and if I can replace her high income she would like to be a stay at home mom. So I could work a little more than I do now if that was the case.

Ultimately, I want real estate to take over for both her income and my income, while not having to strictly rely on rental cashflow till I’m ready to retire and the cashflow isn’t so lean.

They say to find work you can enjoy and it often won’t feel like work and I enjoy almost every aspect of property management and renovating a property. Both have their negatives of course, but I have such a passion and love for real estate that I would be fine managing properties and rehabs as a replacement for my W2 once the income got to where it needs to be for my wife to quit her W2 first and then me.

Feel free to ask any questions or give any advice you may have. Even if it’s just some thoughts after reading. Any extra insight helps! Thank you!

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GC/Project Manager
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Both
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  • Divin KanyamaBusiness Member
    Accountant · Seattle, WA · Member since 2025 · 433 posts · 176 votes
    13h

    @Matthew Kline You clearly have the passion and work ethic for both paths, but passion doesn’t eliminate capacity limits—especially with two very young children, a W-2, five rentals, and three unfinished turns. Trying to launch two service businesses at once would probably make you better at real estate, but it could also leave you constantly reacting instead of building either one well.

    If I were in your position, I’d choose one as the primary business for the next 6–12 months and treat the other as an apprenticeship. The renovation side sounds like the stronger first move because you already have a good contractor willing to teach you, your own backlog provides real projects, and better estimating, sequencing, and contractor management could unlock three vacant units. That creates value even if you never take an outside job.

    Property management can produce recurring revenue, but managing for others is a different business from managing your own rentals. It adds owner expectations, trust accounting, leasing compliance, after-hours calls, reporting, vendor coordination, and potential licensing requirements. Before taking outside clients, confirm Indiana’s current broker, licensing, insurance, escrow, and contract rules with the appropriate professionals.

    Rehab project management may pay less predictably, but it has clearer start and finish dates and can be limited to one project at a time. The risks are scope creep, pricing mistakes, contractor reliability, and warranty callbacks. I’d learn alongside the contractor, document bids and schedules, and test whether the commission actually compensates you for every hour—including travel, sales, and problem-solving.

    Set guardrails before expanding: cap weekly work hours, protect specific family blocks, keep the W-2 until the new income is consistent, and avoid counting gross fees as take-home pay. Track hours, profit, interruptions, and stress for each activity. Also set a clear threshold for either spouse leaving a job—such as stable net income over several months plus adequate household and property reserves.

    My vote would be: finish stabilizing your own portfolio, learn rehab management under this contractor, and build repeatable systems. Once the renovations are under control, test property management with one carefully chosen outside client rather than launching broadly. You may ultimately do both, but sequencing them is more likely to get you there without sacrificing the family life you are trying to improve.

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  • Ashish AcharyaBusiness Member
    CPA, CFP®, PFS · FL · Member since 2017 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    9h

    Matthew, I actually think you're asking the right question. With five rentals already, I’d be careful about turning your passion for real estate into two more jobs on top of your W-2.

    If I were choosing between the two, I'd look at which one can eventually become more repeatable without requiring all of your personal time. Property management can create recurring income, while project management/GC work can potentially produce more income per project, but the day-to-day demands can be very different.

    I'd also think about the tax and business side before you start charging other investors. Managing your own properties is one thing; getting paid to manage someone else's property or renovation is a separate business activity. I'd keep that income and its expenses clearly separated from your investment properties and think through the entity structure before it grows.

    If the outside business becomes consistently profitable, an S-Corp may be worth evaluating, but I wouldn't set one up just because someone says it saves taxes. The profit level, volume, reasonable compensation, payroll costs, and overall situation all matter. And honestly, with a wife and young kids, I'd put a value on your time too. The best strategy isn't necessarily the one that produces the most gross income. It's the one that gives you enough income to move toward your goal without taking all the time you're trying to get back.

    Feel free to DM me, I’d be happy to send over a few resources that might be helpful.

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  • Drew SygitBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    4h

    Been there, done all this.

    For 4+ years I worked a day job, would come home and quickly eat, change clothes and go work on my rentals.

    Saturdays, I'd be at Home Depot at 6am and my wife would drag me out of a property to go home & shower to go out with family/friends.

    Sundays she gave me a 4pm cutoff to be home.

    Eventually found a great contractor to help me and learned a TON from him.

    You get burned out.

    But, I learned a LOT about construction and repairs that continues to be of immense value today.

    Also, self-managed and learned a LOT about property management, that is also of immense value today.

    Challenge is life-balance, boundaries and scaling.

    Haven't worked on a rental in over 10 years and don't want to - but, I know enough to avoid getting overcharged by contractors.

    • Still a challenge finding & "keeping" good ones!

      • When you do find one, they eventually get either greedy and start charging more, lazy and cut corners, or take bigger projects and aren't available.

      • Then you have to start searching again.

    Also, don't like dealing with applicants or tenants anymore.

    • 99% of it I've heard or dealt with a 100+ times and it now bores or irritates me.

    My time is better spent on strategy, tracking execution and improving systems.

    Good luck🙃

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