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.

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