If you are a landlord or plan on becoming one, why use a property manager? Why not save the money and do it yourself?
Most people that rent out properties do so as a way of making additional income in addition to their “real jobs”. The additional income can make a significant difference in your personal finances but it doesn’t come without costs. These costs include:
- Money: for mortgage payments, upkeep, marketing, etc
- Time: Managing the property, scheduling maintenance, marketing for new tenants, etc.
- Personal Resources: Sort of the mental component in dealing with tenant issues, time away from family and friends, legal issues, etc.
The list above and individual items are only some of what you will deal with. So the question you have to answer is why use a property manager? Or why not?
If you’re looking for a hands of experience a property manager can make your life as a landlord as easy as it can be. Here are some specific items a property manager can help you with:
Getting Ready to List
- Rental Market Analysis: Prior to making a decision to acquire a property to rent or putting an existing property on the market, a property manager should provide you an analysis of the rental market. This should include facts such as competition and how to price a rental property
- Investment Strategy: Your property manager can help you devise a investment strategy based on your objectives and then identify properties that fit your criteria.
- Acquire a Property: Once you’ve identified a property to purchase they can then assist with the purchase helping with negotiating the purchase. It is important that you understand the specific Atlanta rental property costs.
- Prepare to List: If you are acquiring a new property or own an existing property your property manager can help ensure your property is best suited to marketability. They can recommended updates or renovations, recommend contractor vendors, put together a list of items the property should have, and then identify the best places to list your property.
- Qualifying Potential Tenants: Your property management company should work with you to understand how to pre-screen tenants who submit a rental application, ensuring that they can financially afford rental payments throughout the contract duration. They also need to do a complete background check to ensure that the potential tenants.
Signing a Tenant
- The Lease Signing: once your property manager has helped you pick your tenant they will assist you with the lease signing, a move-in walk through as well as a move-out walk through on the move-out date.
- Owner/Tenant Portal: An online portal allows you to keep tabs on the renting of your property. As the owner you will have access to monthly statements and year end tax filings. As the tenant you can pay your rent online, request maintenance, access rental documents and view payment history information.
- Maintenance: As a DIY renter keeping up with maintenance and repairs can be cumbersome. With a property manager you can rely on their expert advice and organization to schedule repairs and maintenance on rental properties. They will have a pre-screened list of contractors and vendors to handle any issue that arises.
- Addressing Issues: While it would be nice if every rental played out as expected, there are times when issues arise. A seasoned property manager that understands Georgia Lease and Rental Agreements law can help you navigate through and resolve issues that arise. Rather than go it alone, you have an experienced professional you can rely on.
The above reasons paint a compelling portrait and answer to the question of why use a property manager? So on the opposite side why would you choose to not use one? Primarily the choice revolves around money. There is a cost to use a property manager, so if you want to retain 100% of the rental revenue then you have to do it by yourself. There is a time/money trade-off.
- If you want to spend less time managing your property you’ll need to spend a little of your rental revenue on a property manager.
- If you want to retain 100% of your rental revenue you’ll have to spend some of your time managing the property.
So why use a property manager? The final decision often comes down to peace-of-mind. It’s simply easier to be a landlord when someone else is managing the day-to-day, week-to-week and month-to-month details. And it becomes more important to rely on help as you move from a single unit to multiple units.
Interested in hiring an Atlanta Property Manager? GSPM assists property owners and investors in maximizing revenue potential while minimizing the hassles in marketing and managing their properties. We recognize that there are a lot of factors that go into making a property a successful investment and put our experience and knowledge to work for you. Call us at 404-254-4502 or complete our Fast Form to learn more about our services.
