As a Buyer’s Agent, I always go on about the benefits of purchasing an investment property.
That’s because it offers you additional passive income and so much more.
However, for real estate to start earning a reliable rental income, you need to lease out your home. That’s when you have to decide whether you want to hire a Property Manager or manage your property yourself.
There are two options: either you carry all of the responsibilities by managing your property personally or you put your investment property in the expert hands of a local Property Manager.
What’s involved with managing your investment property?
Before we deep dive into looking at the pros and cons of property management, here’s a quick recap of some of the main tasks required to manage a rental home:
- Advertising your property to attract tenants
- Preparing the lease documents
- Screening all potential tenants
- Collecting rent regularly
- Managing general upkeep and maintenance
- Legal compliance and enforcement
- Checking in on tenants
- Finding new tenants when vacancies occur
And the list goes on and on. However, the question is: can you do them all? Or is it better left with a leasing professional?
Let’s look at your options.
Advantages of hiring a property manager
Property Managers are a team of leasing and rental agents, typically part of a local Real Estate Agency office, who handle the management of your property, on behalf of you, the Landlord.
Not only do they help with tenants and sort out all of the admin, but they also make sure that your investment goals are met by offering you their years of experience and in-depth familiarity with the industry.
So, why should you entrust your property to a quality property manager?
- Property Managers save you a great deal of time
I listed a couple of property responsibilities above – most of which need a lot of time and attention. If you hire a Property Manager, they dedicate their days to undertaking them all, removing all of that burden from you.
Being your own property manager can sometimes defeat the purpose of earning passive income, because it keeps you from having time to enjoy your life!
- Property Managers get the most returns from rental income
When you lease a property, the idea is to ensure optimal cash flow and maximum income. This involves setting rental prices and managing expenses. Through their market knowledge, Property Managers can set competitive rental prices to attract quality tenants, implement a system for collecting rent and manage all of the transactions like monthly expenses, regular maintenance and emergency repairs.
This ensures the property is maximising its return on investment potential for you.
- Property Managers are well-versed in rental and leasing laws
Australia has a lot of laws and legal procedures when it comes to real estate. There are rental and leasing laws across all states that you must abide by.
So, it’s helpful to hire a Property Manager who is an expert in property rules, regulation and practices. Relying on an experienced Property Manager can help ensure you and your property are compliant.
- Property Managers are knowledgeable and experienced
The biggest advantage that you can get from Property Managers is their valuable knowledge gained over their years of managing properties. They know how to create efficient systems, address tenant needs, answer questions and deal with issues with utmost professionalism.
- Property Managers give you peace of mind
When you hire a quality Property Manager, you can leave all of your property’s responsibilities in their capable hands, knowing they’ve got everything under control. This doesn’t mean you’re out of the loop – they will always consult you on decisions and updates. However, it means that for the most tedious parts, you can step back and let the experts do the job while you get on with life.
Benefits of property self-management
Of course, there will are some investors who choose to be their own property managers for these advantages:
- You can save financially
This is probably the top reason why an investor would choose to self-manage a rental property – to avoid paying service fees of a property manager. However, in my experience, Property Manager fees are very affordable.
- You are in greater control
Self-management lets you have total control over your property. All important decisions and requirements are left to you, from leasing your property, to potential tenant screening and maintaining all the records that you need.
- You gain experience
If you are committed to putting in a lot of your hours into real estate, this may be an opportunity to learn how to run your own systems by being independent. However, expect lots of hiccups along the way, too.
While these benefits may sound good to you, also consider the non-financial aspects such as handling tenant complaints, a lack of property law knowledge and expertise, and of course, the time and effort required.
So, should I hire a property manager?
I always suggest that the answer is yes.
As a Buyers Agent, my goal is to help my clients purchase the ideal investment property to add wealth, income and benefits to their portfolio. This then needs to be followed up with effective leasing – and a quality Property Manager can help you with this part.
Property management is not simple as it seems – handling tenancy legislation can be a minefield that may put you at risk and trying to deal with tenant matters has always been a tedious process. You also have to consider performing routine inspections, dealing with bond lodgement and managing maintenance issues. It’s in your best interest to simply let a reliable property management company handle your investment, so you can focus on growing your wealth.
If you’re not quite sure where to start, my team at Worth Property Investing will gladly help you find and hire an excellent Property Manager to look after your investment property for you.
This will save you time and free yourself from the stress so you can live the life you want.
Speak to me on 1300 897 874 to discuss your property goals and how to meet them.
So, let’s start planning your next property investment and the ways in which we can support you.
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