At some point, the fee reflects the work and the risk they’re taking on.You can absolutely DIY parts of it to cut costs, but that usually means:Coordinating showings remotelyManaging communication with multiple prospectsHandling screening decisions and compliance yourselfRelying on boots-on-the-ground help anywayFor most out-of-state owners, it’s well worth letting a competent manager run the full turnover process.

Deal inflow from multiple people, working with someone on ground is nice to manage the deal inflow, do virtual showings, help validate numbers, provide comps, tips/coaching/consulting on best things to do, connecting you with bankers/lenders, insurance agents, construction workers, handling leasing, property management, then handling ongoing maintenance, optimization, and performance goals.

Cash Flow Is the Priority (Even If Appreciation Returns)If the last few years taught us anything, it’s this:Cash flow buys time, flexibility, and peace of mind.Early in the year is a great time to:Stress-test rentsReview operating expensesReevaluate property management performanceSmall improvements here compound fast.4.

The cost is the same but you are spreading it out over multiple units. 

Some tenant stiffs on multiple months of rent and I need to incur legal fees (will probably never collect from the tenant) and travel/hotel (at least I can write that off).The joys of landlording... big picture it pays off but lesson learned on my part around eviction handling given the property ownership and not having a PM company.

Rate increases, inspection issues, contractor overruns, or title hiccups don’t just slow you down, they compound daily.Now, before I take short-term or private funding, I pressure-test the exit first:Is the refi lender already vetted and realistic?

we've got 7 units, 6 properties, mostly student rentals with multiple tenants per unit. we use baselane.com for bookkeeping.

Usually, landlords hire a PMC for one of two reasons:1) No time to properly manage2) Lack of expertise - and no time to learnOtherwise, technology makes it relatively easy to self-manage.If you don't have the time, then hiring a PMC NOW, before buying the next rental, is probably a good idea.You can "test-drive" this PMC to see if they meet your expectations.- If not, it's easier to move 1 rental to another PMC versus 2+.Here's some of our copy & paste advice about selecting a PMC, that you may want to review ASAP to determine if this PMC is the right one for you!

Love the game plan and wanting to be involved in real estate in multiple ways. 

That approach has kept me in the game through multiple cycles, and it’s usually what separates people who lend for a while from people who lend for decades.