Should I hire a property management firm

There are many reasons you may need one, such as:

You don't live in the same city as your property, or
You are a busy professional, and don't have the time to constantly keep calling brokers to remind them of your property, or keep showing your property to potential tenants, or
You don't have the time or inclination to deal with all small issues that your tenants keep bothering you with, or
You just can't find good tenants, who will maintain your property well and pay your rent on time!

So, how does a Property Management firm help?

To start with it takes the responsibility off your shoulders. The company is now responsible for finding a good tenant, and keeping the property tenanted for as long as possible. Now, why is a property management company able to do this more effectively than you? Few reasons:

They have the network
They have dedicated staff who are constantly marketing your property, and stay in touch with tenants
They have the legal know how to make sure that your interests are protected
They have systems and policies to pick the right tenant, and follow certain procedures to minimize risk
They conduct regular checks even on tenanted properties to make sure that it's being well-maintained

But having said that, is property management for everyone? Definitely not. If you are a hands-on landlord, and stay very close to your property and have the extra time to deal with tenanting and tenant management, then you can save a few extra bucks, doing so yourself.

For everyone else, hiring a property management firm, will in fact, increase the returns on your property investment by close to 20%, if not more.

Should I hire a property management firm?