There are nearly 50 million rental units in the United States. What each of those units has in common is that they're owned by a landlord that's trying to recoup the investment they made when they initially bought that property.
If you're a landlord, we get that you're probably in a rush to boost your return on investment. That rush might make it so you think that it's appropriate to do everything yourself. After all, you want to avoid spending any of your rent money on hiring help.
What we're going show you in this blog post is how taking a DIY approach when running your property could actually cost you more money than it's saving you.
Below, we share with you five reasons why hiring a property manager is actually a financially sound investment.
1. Rent Research
One of the most obvious ways that property managers make landlords money is that they are experts when it comes to rent. They have their fingers on the pulse of a community and when leases expire, they know exactly how much to lower or how much to raise your property's asking price to ensure that they can get the most out of tenants.
Just think, if you accidentally undervalued your rental by as little as $200.00, you'd lose $2,400 in a year.
If you're unsure as to whether or not a property manager specializes in your area or is broad-based, look to see if the property manager has the name of your town in its company name (ex: Corona property management).
2. Maintenance and Repairs
When something breaks in your rental unit, you'll probably have to hire a handyman to make necessary fixes. The cost of parts and labor with these repairs can be rather high, especially when looked at annually.
Property managers have working relationships with contractors that are solid and provide discounted services due to the volume of work that they do.
If you own a ton of units, a 10% to 15% discount that your property manager could get you on repairs will subsidize huge portions of the property management fees that you're paying.
3. Tenant Screening
A bad tenant can cost you thousands of dollars. Property managers know how to legally vet people that apply to live in your home and how to reject applications that don't meet standards.
Going through this process on your own might result in letting a bad tenant slip through your safeguards or worse, could result in a discrimination lawsuit.
4. Advertising
Empty units require advertising to minimize the annual vacancy expenses that you incur. Property managers are well networked in their community and can get applications flooding in fast.
If you don't know the first thing about marketing, it's best to leave this practice to the pros.
5. Opportunity Cost
A property manager can save you 20+ hours per week. Think about what you could do with that time and what it's worth to you.
Remember, time is the only thing in this life that you can't get back.
Wrapping Up Ways a Professional Property Manager Saves You Money
Property managers have the ability to save you much more money than they charge in the way of management fees. Given that reality, in almost all cases, it is a no-brainer to bring one on.
We wish you the best of luck as you try to determine whether or not a property manager is for you and we invite you to continue browsing more of our real estate content if you would like additional helpful tips!
