Many landlords myself included, make one mistake that is not an uncommon one, but you might do not think about it as much as other mistakes. The mistake I’m talking about isn’t property inspections, the property insurance, or even screening new tenants, it’s trying to self-manage your properties by yourself. Here is why this can be a very bad problem. Managing your properties can be a problem for several reasons. It’s not that you can’t do this it’s that it might not be as profitable as you would like as a real estate investor.
Corresponding with Tenants and Maintenance Takes Time
You may have some luck with your first properties and maybe even your second property when it comes to your tenants. The thing to realize is that sooner rather than later, you’re probably going to have tenants that require a lot of work or property that requires a lot of work. As a landlord, you may have several units that require a lot of responsive management or intensive work. This can be the case even if you’re getting the tenants or the property is in new construction and the renters all have great credit scores.
You have a lot of responsibility, legal risk, and huge financial concerns that you must take care of. You might be able to provide friendly customer service and be quite responsive, but this isn’t going to last when you have a lot of work to do. If you’re not seeing as a great landlord, this can backfire on you, so it can be important to have someone help you when you have a heavy workload.
See also: 9 Common Problems of Landlord And How to Fix Them
Being Too Busy is a Burden
As a landlord, you usually have to be available for the tenants 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year which just isn’t reasonable. You also have to stay on top of the various contractors that you’re working with and you don’t really have enough time to take a day off. If you’re not a person that likes to travel or are older and retired, this might not be a problem that you have to deal with. For other individuals is going to lead to a lot of stress because you have multiple units that you have to look after.
You also have to be on the lookout for new tenants and finding new property deals which can further strain your limited time. You won’t be able to reach your full potential and your health can suffer if you’re working too much all the time. In this case, it can be beneficial to have someone help you manage your properties.
Too Involved on a Personal Basis
You might like the idea of being personally involved with your properties such as keeping the landscaping clean, dealing with tenant applications, and even up keeping the individual properties, but this really doesn’t lend itself well to reality. If you’re too involved in a property you can have more risk and you might not be as effective in property investing. You want to make a good call on tenants and the properties that you are acquiring. If you’re too involved in the property, you might make take on expensive repairs, make the wrong renovations, or not be able to deal with people in the best way because you’re not thinking in an objective way as you’re thinking of the property more in a personal way and not in a business sense.
See also: How to Be a Successful Landlord
In Conclusion
My advice would be to outsource some of the work to a professional property management company. You should think of property management as a part of your investment because you might not be able to do everything on your own. It’s difficult to juggle many multiple roles and you can have a lot of stress as well as lost time. You could spend this additional time looking at other properties or spending more time with your family.
You can’t spend all of your time working as you do need some time to yourself so having others help you with the management of your properties can be ideal. If you’re just operating a single property you may be able to do everything yourself, but if you have more than one property you should really look at proper property management as this can be a very good investment.
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We are not your ordinary managers, we are your partners with a common goal: To maximize and safeguard your property. Get ready to experience first class property management at an affordable price. Because with Bolld Real Estate Management being a landlord has never been easier.