The Pros and Cons of Hiring a Property Manager

Being a property manager comes with a significant amount of responsibility. There is so much at stake when managing one or several properties, including: collecting rent payments, filling unoccupied units, dealing with maintenance issues, etc. On top of those other responsibilities, property managers also have to constantly communicate and check in with tenants to ensure their units are in good standing and there are no issues. Balancing these tasks can be overwhelming while you are trying to find tenants to occupy your units, which is why hiring another property manager could be a great choice to lessen these burdens.

Tackling the duties of a property manager on your own can seem doable until you are completely swamped and are stretching yourself too thin in several different areas. Hiring a property manager to help can give you the ability to better manage your property while taking care of tenants at the same time. Doing so does have its pros and cons, and if you are unsure about hiring a property manager for your own company, it can seem unfamiliar.

Are you a property manager looking for some extra help with managing your business? Interested in hiring another property manager but are unsure of where to start and what the benefits and disadvantages are? Read on to learn about the pros and cons of hiring a property manager, and how this can affect your business.

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Pros

• Greater Flexibility: Hiring a property manager may seem redundant if you feel you can manage all the duties by yourself, however, one benefit to doing so is the gift of greater flexibility. A property manager can help to deal with the smaller functions of your company, such as collecting rent or dealing with maintenance issues, while you can have greater flexibility to focus on bigger things like renovating or filling units. The flexibility does not only have to only apply to work, instead, it can extend past it and give you extra time to dedicate to your personal life, which can easily be neglected in this type of job position.

• Maintenance Help: A significant benefit to hiring a property manager is having the help to deal with maintenance issues. Often time, these types of accidents or issues occur randomly and out of the blue, which can take you out of your home or away from an important event to deal with the problem. A property manager, however, can deal with these types of issues, whether it be a broken appliance, faulty HVAC systems, or things or items that need to be replaced or fixed. Though you are not completely exempt from dealing with the problems or tenants exclusively, the extra hand can free up time and give you the ability to focus on other areas of the company, as well as your personal life.

• Less Turnaround Time for Tenant Vacancies: The newfound time that you have given that you have taken on less responsibilities can now allow you to dedicate more time to seeking out prospective tenants and filling unoccupied units. Olivia Beck of Good Life Property Management notes, “Long vacancy periods can quickly decrease your profits when it comes to managing your own property. You want to get a new, qualified tenant into your home as soon as you can once the current tenant decides to leave.” With the help of a property manager, you can clean up the units, landscape the property, and perhaps even advertise your units on social media to attract tenants.

Cons

• Less Involvement: If you are someone that likes to be in control and involved in every aspect of your business, hiring a property manager might not be the best choice for you. Doing so requires you to relinquish some of your responsibilities and trust the other person to handle some of the functions for you. While to some this is a good thing, if you prefer to have more direct, hands-on involvement with your tenants and company as a whole, rethink hiring someone else to handle these responsibilities.

• More Out of Pocket Costs: While having more free time to manage your company is a definite plus, it does mean that you’ll have to come up with some out of pocket costs for this service. Rates and fees for property managers range, and Andrew Moses of Tenant Cube writes, “The most common fees are monthly, but you could have more. It is important to look closely into a contract before you commit.”

• Seeing Eye to Eye: You most likely have a specific vision in terms of managing your company and how you like to do things. When hiring a property manager, their approach to dealing with tenants and handling issues could be different than yours, which could cause conflict. Seeing eye to eye with your property manager can be difficult, so try to sort through a few different candidates before you dive into signing a contract.

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As a property manager, there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to handle all the responsibilities that come with the job. Hiring a property manager could be a great alternative to help you, but doing so does have its benefits and disadvantages, so be sure to evaluate your needs before leaping into an agreement.