Should I Hire a Property Manager?

So let me guess: you own properties and are trying to decide if you should use property managers or not, and all your friends and family have told you one thing or another about what they think you should do based on how they feel about the issue. Well, this article will help you make this decision by giving you the real information about what you should consider when presented with the decision of whether or not to hire property managers to handle the affairs of your tenants.

What is a property manager?

What do property managers do? They do the things you probably don’t want to do. That list of things includes duties like collecting the rent, evicting the tenant if necessary, taking complaint or maintenance calls in the middle of the night from your tenant, and much more. They are designed to all the hands-on stuff so you don’t have to.

What should I do?

Depending on your current circumstance as a property owner, it may or may not be a good choice to use a property management company (PMC). Here are some essential questions that you must ask yourself before you say yes or no to a PMC:

An overabundance of Properties

Do you own one or two properties with tenants in them or do you own six, eight, or more? The more properties you own, the harder it is to maintain them all yourself. Yes, it costs money to hire a PMC, but just because it costs money doesn’t mean it’s not going to be worth it, both financially and monetarily. You have to be honest with yourself when you have a ton of properties to manage and consider getting some help.

Driving is getting tedious

Does it take you 45 minutes or longer to drive to your properties when you receive a call from your tenant? This can be very tedious, not to mention time-consuming and gas-consuming. And especially if you have a lot of properties that are all a good distance away from your residence, you should really consider using a PMC.

You don't want to worry about it

Experience and observation have shown that most landlords if given the option, would prefer to not have to take every call from their tenant, make every house call, and arrange every service company when necessary. This is largely because many people who own properties are doing it as an investment; in other words, to make money. They have other jobs that take precedence over the upkeep of their rental properties. The piece of mind someone experiences knowing that professionals have got it covered can be worth its weight it gold, and then some.

Time is precious

What’s the most common response when you ask someone “So, how’s life? How’s everything going?” My guess: “Well, staying busy.” In the modern world that we live in, being busy has transitioned from a negative life characteristic to a straight-up reality for most people. We are all busy, trying to find time to do the things that matter the most to us. If you own properties and have another job, we know how busy you are. If you are so strapped for time that you barely have time to grab a bite to eat during the day, then you should absolutely consider hiring a PMC. They can take care of all of those little things that always take up more time than expected, freeing you up for things that are higher on the priority list.

Conclusion

After reading this article, if you find that many of these questions don’t apply to you, then getting a property management company may not be necessary. But if you answered yes to one or more of the proposed questions, you should be considering it.

Should I Hire a Property Manager?

Property Managers

Article by Clear Content Marketing

A Few Things to Remember When Renting or Buying a Home

Are you trying to decide whether you should continue renting or if it’s finally time to take the plunge into home ownership? This can be a daunting decision to make, taking up weeks, months, even years to come to a final conclusion. For some, it’s absolutely the right choice. For others, not so much. Not that there is anything innately wrong with renting. Renting can be extremely beneficial, even if you were financially secure enough that you could easily afford to buy a home. It all depends on so many factors, so don’t let any cliches or adamant friends persuade you one way or the other without you doing your research first. There are wonderful financial benefits that can come from owning a home, but those financial benefits will only manifest themselves if you buy a home under the right circumstances and for the right reasons. Here are three things that you should always consider when you are trying to decide between renting or buying a home:

Personal finances

This is arguably the most important thing to be absolutely sure of before taking the leap from renting to owning. Do you have any savings? What kind of down payment would you be able to make (if any) if you were to purchase a home? Are you financially secure enough to comfortably anticipate all the other expenses that come along with home ownership such as property taxes, maintenance costs, etc? What’s your credit score like? If your credit score is on the low side, it’s probably not the right time yet to think about buying a home. A high credit score will get you a better interest rate on your mortgage, so perhaps considering home ownership should be on your to-do list if your credit score is high.

Location

Do you have aspirations of owning a home in, say, Seattle? How about New York? Well, hopefully, you’ve been saving money for years because those are two of the most expensive cities in America to buy a home in. But other areas, even ones that may be near by wherever it is that you’re looking just may be a significant amount cheaper. This is often the case due to a variety of factors, but if you happen to be looking at an area that is known to be pricey, make sure you consider nearby cities because price differences could be a major. Location is also important to consider because you don’t want to fall into the trap of making an emotional buying decision with $100,000+ on the line. Location often is “non-negotiable” to many potential home owners. Be negotiable. It very well could save you a lot of money and increase your square footage. But by all means, if you can afford your “dream” home in your “dream” area comfortably, do it.

Lifestyle

Make sure that if you do leave the renting world and buy a home that you do it for the right reasons; reasons that coincide with whatever life plans you have for yourself. Is your plan to only live in your first home for a few years and then move again? This option gets more credence than it should. It often is not a great investment, unless your plan is to rent it out after you move. If you’re planning on having kids - or have kids already - you may want to consider a more permanent home owning situation. And always ask yourself: do you really need that much space for two people? It’s always a financially responsible decision to match your lifestyle with your home purchase...or rental for that matter.