The answer to that question is maybe. It will depend on what you as the landlord do once you hire a manager.
To many a tired landlord, hiring a property manager seems like the way to go. No more phone calls, no more showings, no more tenants, no more, no more, no more. And while hiring a property manager or someone to help you manage has many advantages and benefits, it also opens the door to a whole new set of problems and responsibilities.
When you are managing your properties yourself, you were on the front line. You see what works and what did not. You were able to make necessary changes quickly. You were in your business.
Things change with a manager. You will not be as up close and personal. You will delegate many of your responsibilities to the manager. But I caution you not to delegate everything to the manager. You must now work on your business instead of in it.
Now is the time for you to develop systems for the nuts and bolts of your business. Systems to screen and approve tenants. Systems to handle maintenance requests. Systems to collect and deposit rent payments. Systems to make your business successful. Only with well scrutinized systems, can you begin to trust others with your business.
These systems need to keep you, the landlord, in the loop. You simply cannot walk away or abdicate all of your responsibility. If you do, it is too easy to lose. People can embezzle your rents, like this property manager did, or they can ease up on rental standards causing a slow erosion of your tenant base. You simply have to manage your manager.
So yes, property managers are perhaps part of the answer to some of your landlording problems. But smarter landlords stay involved. They work on their business and build systems that will foster growth.
If you are just beginning to think about building systems for your business, the best place for you to start by far is the E-Myth by Michael Gerber. Check it out!
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