Why Should I hire a Property Manager?

What is a property manager? 

A property manager is much more than someone who collects rent checks or fixing leaky faucets. Rental properties require the same forms of traditional home maintenance including cleaning, landscaping, and plumbing/heating repairs in addition to acting as a point of contact for residents, advertising and listing units based on update market analysis, assisting with (and preventing) legal issues, and more.

What can a property manager do for you? 

Deciding whether or not to hire a property manager is one of the most difficult decisions investors can make. 

Rent Collections, apartment showings, and marketing are just a few of the tasks that come with owning a real estate investment property. With only a couple of units to manage, these tasks can be quite feasible, however, they can also quickly become very time consuming while maintaining daily tasks. Proper maintenance of units and tenant relations are essential to success, and it only takes one neglected task to dismantle a prosperous portfolio.  

Am I a good candidate for a property manager? 

A prosperous property owner is one that offers quality housing including consistent maintenance, market-value rent prices, and a systematic approach to collecting rent. Often, these require more time and effort than what appears at face-value. Below are some qualities of a property owner that might reap the most benefits from a property manager. 

• There is a geographic barrier between you and local of your ideal property
  • Owners that manage their own properties are limited to investing only in a certain radius of their home. There is often great value in owning properties in other prime locations, and hiring a property manager that is within a closer vicinity to those properties allows investors to expand their portfolios. 
• You have limited time.
  • Listing vacant units, screening potential residents, preparing units for new residents, and addressing the daily maintenance needs is quite time consuming. Owners that have primary jobs, families, or travel often do not have the availability to complete such tasks in the most effective manner, leading to a sacrifice in quality of management and increase in stress. 
• You do not want to deal with daily management
  • It is very common for things to break in houses, but home owners are responsible for the repairs. One benefit to renting a home is that the units are taken care of by the owners, including common repairs such as leaky faucets, furnace repairs, smoke detector replacements, and more. A property manager takes these tasks from the owners by hiring professional vendors, giving owners a peace of mind knowing the job is taken care of.
• You have more than one property
  • One of the primary duties of a property manager is to maintain organization. Owning multiple units can very quickly be overwhelming, especially if there are multiple vacancies or late payments at a time. An efficient property manager has a staff that operates with a systematic approach to collecting rents, filling vacancies, and more. 
• You would like budgets set for your properties.
  • Tracking money coming in and going out of multiple accounts is not an easy task for the average Joe, especially when trying to simultaneously keep track of personal expenses. Unexpected repairs and late payments can really cause a disruption of flow. When working with a property manager, owners reap the benefits of the good standing relationships managers grow with local vendors which helps keep quality high and cost low. Property managers have a very organized system for overseeing these finances that helps owners stay organized. 

What does a property manager do?

• Collect rent from tenants
• Act as a point of contact for tenants 
• Draft and execute new lease agreements
• Maintain thorough and organized records
• Regular and emergency property maintenance
• Maintain legal compliance

What are the benefits of hiring a property manager? 

• Quality residents
  • Property managers have the tools to help bring in residents that are less likely to miss payments, damage property, or cause legal issues. A thorough background screening, credit check, verifying employment, and collecting previous landlord references can avoid unnecessary stress. 
• Less vacancies
  • A happy resident is more likely to have a longer retention, resulting in less turnover and empty units. A perfectly priced unit is one that is based off of a thorough market analysis- too high and it will sit empty for a longer period of time, too low and the unit will rent fast, but owners will lose profits and likely have an increase in resident turnover. 
• Mitigate Liability
  • One of the greatest assets to a property manager is their legal knowledge. Laws are continuously changing and it is easy to make mistakes. Hiring a property manager ensures that you are always in compliance with state, federal, and municipal housing regulations and property laws. 
• Less Stress
  • Owning real estate property is a great way to obtain passive income while also helping the community by offering quality housing to its members. However, with such power comes great responsibility, and property managers know this because they exist to relieve you from those responsibilities. Owners that hire property managers have the luxury of sleeping at night not worrying about their phones ringing. 

Summary

Similar to any other asset you may own, real estate investments require proper care and attention to grow and thrive. Owners have the responsibility of providing quality housing to a community, and property managers are here to make that happen. Whether you own 10 units or 100, a property manager is a great way to reduce stress, maximize profitability of your time and assets, and increase both you and your tenants quality of living. 

More questions? Drop us a line and we will help you every step of the way.

Email: andrew@kpmbrokers.com

Phone: (518) 791-2012