Should You Hire a Property Manager Or Not?

Using a property manager has both pros and cons. There are no hard and fast rules regarding whether you should hire one or not. You have to evaluate the answer based on your own situation. The following are some considerations to take into account before you jump to a conclusion.

Time Commitment

A lot of real estate investors have a full time job so they do not have enough time or energy to manage properties. Especially if the house is situated remotely, many investors might feel they cannot manage on their own or do not want to travel. If fact, you can manage on your own.

Cost Benefit

If you have several properties or an apartment complex in one area, using a property manager to manage all the property may be economic. The manager will be able to combine expenses and costs. For example, they can purchase maintenance materials in bulk for all the rental units. If you don't have several rental units in one area, but together with your friends' or families' rental units you do. Then you can afford to hire a professional dedicated property manager.

The Nature of the Rental Market Where your Property is Located

If your rental property is located in an area where renters mostly check out the rentals through the local property management companies, then you have no other choice but to hire the company. This may happen in small towns where there is only a handful of management companies.

Tenant's Characteristics

Some tenants are not easy to deal with. You may find some tenants that are constantly paying late, asking for a lot of unnecessary repairs, complaining about everything, or having difficulty keeping up the premises. A property manager may handle the situation better than you as you might be emotionally attached to your property and less likely to handle many issues impartially. What's more, the tenant might try to take advantage of you. They may take it more seriously if they are dealing with a professional property management company instead of an individual.

Does your Property Need Frequent Repairs or Maintenance?

If your property needs frequent repairs due to its age or other reasons, having a property manager may help you if repairs are a burden. Usually the property management company either has its own in-house repair service or contracts with outside vendors. In any case, you should ask about it before hiring them and understand how much they charge.

What Kind of Service do you need from a Property Manager?

Do you need a full service property management, which includes placing tenants and ongoing management service? If the condition of your property is good or new and not much repair is anticipated, you may save your money on the ongoing management service part. If you already have a tenant but you are moving out of that area you can use a local property manager to collect the rent and do the maintenance work.

Lack of Interest in Managing

Some rental property owners just do not want to get involved in managing the property at all. They rather have someone look after their rental properties so they can enjoy their life doing other things. That is absolutely ok. Enjoying life is also very important.

The purpose of hiring a property manager is to free up your time and make your rental investment successful. Nevertheless, hiring a poor one is worse than hiring no one. You can end up spending more time and money to rescue your property.

If you hire one, keep in mind it does not mean you have to be a completely hand-offs owner. You should keep in regular communication with your property manager so he understands you do not treat your real estate business lightly. How to hire a good property manager belongs to another blog we will write about.

Property Management Companies - How Essential Are They?

Property management is very important to make a regular flow of money. If the property is vacant or is not well managed it will cost you infact you will be losing some amount of money every month. So before you property lose it charm and value, it is better to manage it and make some goods flow of money every month. It is true that people face tough time to maintain the assets, but it can be done easily by hiring the reputed and professional property management services. They offer you their services to maintain your house, flats, apartments, buildings and many other possessions in a great style, so that people would hire them on rent.

Today we often see that people spend their money in a well managed and well maintained property. Be it for hiring the room, flats or apartments on rents or property for business purposes, people usually how well it is managed. They check out everything before hiring, so if you want to make a goods income from your property it has to be well maintained. Managing your assets will truly give a goods return every month. So if you could not do it yourself, hire one reputed and professional rental management company.

A rental management company can range is size according to their dealing processes. Some deals only with rental management while the large corporation deals in selling, buying and leasing the properties on rent. A small property management companies largely works for landlords and the property holders so that they can efficiently manage the property and give a good return in their hand every month. In return they also receive some percentage for their services they provide in managing the assets of the property owners.

Some of the basic services offered by the management companies includes, collecting rent, rent agreement, paying utility of electric bills, handling maintenance issues, document of lease agreement along with enhancing tenant relationships. However, they also maintain the document of land tax, yearly basis expenditure and income for you. The accounting side includes everything from maintaining the check registers to updating the increment in the rents and turnover. However the collection of rents and maintenance activities are carried out the expert staff member of these companies while the accounting part is well maintained by the property managers. They keep good records of all the expenditures, tax, rent agreement, lease agreement and many other details related to managing of property.

Not only they collect rents and maintain the property, but before leasing the room on rent they also enquire in details about the people to whom they are leasing the room. They also tackle infact look after the problems of the tenants related to the room they are staying in. Sometimes tenants face like clogging of water drainage, water problems, power cut off, painting of rooms, maintenance, etc these entire problems are efficiently handled and taken care of by the rental management company. They take care of each and every needs and requirements of the tenants so that they do not face any problems while staying in the rooms, apartments or flats given on lease by these rental management companies. So in order to make it more precise and clear it is always goods to hire the services from the property management companies to main the property charm and value. They will also assure you goods return of money every month out of your property.

Should I Hire a Property Management Company?

Depending on their circumstances, property owners may choose to manage their properties themselves, or they can outsource these responsibilities to a professional property management company. The following questions should help you decide whether or not you should consider hiring a property manager.

How far do you live from your property, and how often can you visit on a regular basis?

For your property to be a successful investment, inspections, maintenance, and collections need to be performed regularly and often. This can be feasible if your property is close by, but the larger the distance, the greater the temptation not to keep a close eye on things, and that can be a recipe for disaster. Plan on making monthly scheduled visits and be prepared for a middle of the night emergency call that requires your immediate attention. Determine if this is feasible for you in the long run.

How do you deal with stress? Are you a tolerant person?

In addition to the seemingly simple task of collecting rent every month, property management tends to come with its share of unique challenges. Ask yourself how you would react in the unfortunate event that tenants:

• Get in fights with other tenants or neighbors


• Have domestic disputes


• Conduct illegal business in the dwelling


• Carry on all-night parties and revelry


• Try to sneak extra people or animals into the home


• Decide to sue you


• Trash the property


• Incite the wrath of the HOA because of repeated deed restriction violations


• Refuse to pay rent because they are a "professional tenant" and know how to work the legal system for the maximum amount of free housing at the owners expense?

Are you currently overwhelmed with your property(ies)?Do you have things under control, or do you need help?

How many rental properties or units do you have?

The larger your investment portfolio, the easier it is to let things slip through the cracks, and the more you stand to gain by employing scalable best practices. Hiring a competent property management firm can help mitigate these challenges.

How experienced are you in handling maintenance and repairs?

Are you able to fix it yourself, and if not do you know who to call? Maintenance and repairs are an important part of landlording, and need to be done well and in a timely manner. If you question your willingness or ability to manage this, you might want to consider hiring a property management firm.

How quickly are you able to get your unit rented?

Advertising, fielding calls, and showing the unit have to be performed in earnest to keep vacancies from eating into your profit margins. If these activities are not your cup of tea, or if you have historically had an unacceptably high vacancy rate, you may want to consider hiring a property management firm.

Can you handle the accounting and record keeping for your property?

From profit and loss statements to tax deductions, this area needs special attention and becomes an increasingly larger burden for larger portfolios. Some owners (especially those with a back ground in finance) will do just fine, others may opt to hire an accountant to help with the book keeping. If you feel like this might be a weak point you might want to consider hiring a property management company.

Are you willing to be on call 27/7/365?

It's important to answer this question honestly, because as a landlord you have an obligation to your tenant. Emergencies don't happen all the time, but when they do, you have to be willing and able to handle them immediately. Can you handle being called at 2 am to fix someone's overflowing toilet?

Are you prepared to deal with late payments and if necessary evict non-paying tenants from the property?

Many new owners are uncomfortable with being the "bad guy", and try to be understanding by making exceptions. The problem is, this only invites further abuse and excuses by tenants. Late payments should be dealt with immediately. Sometimes only a friendly reminder is needed, but in other cases it can be a very confrontational process ending in eviction. It's also important to know the laws governing this process to shield yourself from liability and lawsuits from delinquent tenants.

How well do you understand the laws governing land lording?

Making sure your property is run according to the law is critical both in preventing lawsuits, and in sheltering yourself from liability in the event that you are sued. Whoever is responsible for managing your property, whether yourself or a management company, needs to be familiar with these rules.

From a financial standpoint, is managing your property the best use of your time?

Your decision to hire or not hire a management company should boil down to whether or not it is a good fit with your lifestyle and is financially the best use of your time. Individual investors will have to evaluate the opportunity cost of both options based on their unique circumstances.

Want to learn more about the fees property managers charge for their services? See our article on property management fees.

For more resources about property management and to find local property managers, check out our directory of property management companies.

What Does a Commercial Property Management Company Do? (Part 1)

Have you ever wondered what a commercial property management company does? Or better yet, what they should be doing?

If you're asking either question and reading this article, then it's safe to say you probably own commercial real estate or are considering purchasing commercial investment property. The answer to this question is simple, "Whatever you want them to do". Ok, it's not that simple. Practically speaking, the range of service varies quite a bit from company to company, depending on who you speak with. However, there are some basics that are essential and necessary regardless of your reason for needing or wanting professional property management. In this article you will find the answers to what you should expect from a commercial property management company.

The basics:

Accounting Services

Reporting- Monthly accounting reports that include, a balance sheet, income & expense statement, general ledger, rent-roll, rent ledger, expense ledger and a copy of the bank statement are the basics. There are various other reports you may want or need depending on the property and ownership type. For instance, with a self-storage property you will want in addition to the above, a copy of the audit and daily deposit report.

Narrative Report- This is a narrative monthly summary of exceptions in the budget, income and expenses or any unusual activity on your property, this report should be prepared by the property manager responsible for your property.

Collections (AR - Accounts Receivable) - Collecting rents and other monies owed. This function is generally considered an accounting function, until the point there is a problem (which is quite frequent these days). You will want a company that has a clearly defined process and system of responsibilities when it comes to collections, ask them, Who? - who will do what in the collection process. What? - what will be done. When? - when will it be done.

Payments (AP - Accounts Payable)- Now that they have collected your money, you will want them to pay the bills. Again, you will want them to clearly define, Who, What and When this will occur. You may want to define for the accounting staff the details on payment of your expenses, including when and how much to disburse to you, as well as other details such as reserves for taxes, insurance or capital improvements.

Lease Processing - This task is generally a group effort, with a defined patterned or specific routing to a number of people within the company, including the accounts receivable department and property manager. Each has a specific function and items they are looking for. However, one person generally inputs the lease into the computer. This part of the process is extremely important, as a missed date or dollar amount could result in serious repercussions down the road. Detail and a process that includes multiple layers of people checking the input process is Key.

Management Services

The Property Manager - This person is "One" of the focal points by which you make your decision on whether you hire a company or not. The property manager is the person that will make the critical day-to-day decisions that go into operating a property. Their responsibilities include - relationships with your Tenants and Vendors, physical condition of your property, oversight of the collection process, payment of bills, budgeting, lease administration, monthly reporting, generally all aspects of the operation of your commercial real estate. Most importantly they will be your contact and source of information about your real estate investment. Make sure you feel completely comfortable with this person and their abilities.

Site Visits - site visits are a critical part of any property management contract, minimally you want your property manager on your site once per month, weekly is preferred. Many things happen during the course of a week on a commercial property. The frequency of the managers' visits will depend on the type of property they are overseeing. The purpose of the property managers' visit will vary from property to property as well, however, here are a few tasks your manager should attend to while on your property:

• Checking Vendor performance


• Checking for Maintenance / Health and Safety issues


• Be seen and talk with Tenants (this topic needs more discussion than is possible in this article)

Well, those are the basics of What a Commercial Property Management Company Does - remember you have a choices and your choice on the company that manages your commercial asset has a profound impact on the success of your commercial real estate investment.

Property Management Issue - Hire A Property Management Company

Property is the biggest material asset a person has. If you have some properties, it is very good for your financial security. Manage your properties to make them as lucrative as possible. But managing properties is not as easy as it sounds. This is the 21st century and is a market driven world. People remain busy in their life and do not fond time to focus on these issues. So, they prefer hiring professional property managers to get managed their properties.

Property management company is basically a liaison between the property owner and the tenant. The company provides comprehensive management of all your properties. The company will help you in selling the property and in rental management. The professional dealers have knowledge about the current market trend and will let you find suitable customer who can offer you maximum amount. The company will also look after the paper work related with the sell of property or in renting the property to the tenant.

The main need of the property management companies are felt when you have to rent the property. Renting property is really a big task. You have to find the suitable tenant and rent the property after accomplishing paper work. Renting does,t not means finding a rental and put the house or office on rent. You have to take care of many things. The tenant must have good and fair background. You have to make rent agreement. You also have to collect the rent monthly and look after the maintenance of the property. All these tasks can be handled by only a professional rental manager. They will do all these tasks and collect the monthly rent and will deposit in your account. The issues of renting and collecting rent will be solved with their assistance. Professional property management companies also look after the maintenance of your properties. They send their staffs time to time to your place to see the condition. If there is some deformity, they arrange repairing.

This service is not only helpful for the property owners but also for the tenants. Tenants can visit the property dealers and can find the desired space easily. They can get good ranges of flats, shops or offices. They can make choice according to their budget. In this way, they are good and an important part of the society. They render valuable services. However, the property is basically meant to help property owners. So property owners hire the services offered by professional property managers and make the profit.

Reasons Why You Need to Hire Property Management Company

There are very many reasons as to why a person may need the services of a property management company. One of them is to allow the people who are professionals manage your property hence minimizes the chance of loss of investment. If you live in Dallas Texas, then you are familiar with all the major property management Dallas companies. There are very many property management companies and this has indirectly increased the investments by people as they can now rely on the property management companies to manage all their properties for them. However there are more reasons as to why people opt for a management company to manage their property rather than do it themselves. Some of these reasons include the following;

Rent- a professional property management agent has systems that are aimed at making it easier to collect the rent and ensure that the rent is paid on time as well. This will in turn ensure that you have a steady cash flow which is very vital for anyone who wants to become a successful investor.

Financial records- the property management companies will do all the hard stuff for you. They will keep all the necessary records which include the end of year tax returns and they will also manage the security deposits for you. This makes your work easier and you can concentrate on making more investments and hand them over to the property management Dallas for proper management.

Eviction- in the worst case scenario a tenant might refuse to pay rent anymore. Such tenants can be a real headache for any person. Evicting them can prove to be even harder. However if you have a management team working for you, this should not be a problem as they will handle everything on your behalf.

Freedom- the best thing about having a property management Dallas company manage your property is that you don't have to live in the place where your property is located. You might even take a vacation or relocate to another country where the weather is much friendlier and not worry about your property as there will be someone managing your property on your behalf.

Cost- the cost of managing your own property is very high. The costs of hiring staff members and accountants to do all the book keeping can drive your profits down. However if you hire the services of a property company, you will be assured that your property will be managed efficiently and at a very low cost. What happens is that the property company charges a fixed rate on your rent collection. Hence if you are making over $10000 per month in rent collections, the property company might be charging you 3% of that which is $300 per month. Imagine how much you would be spending on a monthly basis if you managed the property all by alone. It would definitely be much more than that.

Bradford features complete information and facts, listings, and trustworthy expertise on property management Dallas. To learn a good deal more regarding all the commercial properties in the DFW metro-plex, drop by www.bradford.com and get in touch with one of the top specialists in Dallas commercial real estate.