In this post for Lamudi Philippines’ Q&A series, we list questions to help you decide whether or not to hire a property manager.
Q: Is It Better to Hire a Property Manager or Manage My Rental Property Myself?
A: Hiring a property manager is both a financial and personal decision. It may not be the right move for everyone, but it makes plenty of sense in a lot of cases, especially if you live quite a distance from your rental properties and you have a full-time job.
Even in a best-case scenario, managing a rental property involves more work than you can expect, so it is up to you decide how much cash you are willing to forego in exchange of convenience.
To help you decide, we list a number of questions to ask to know whether it makes more sense for you to hire a property manager.
1. Do You Live Near Your Rental Property?
As a rule of thumb, if you live many kilometers away from your rental property, then the harder it is for you to manage it. This is especially true in Metro Manila, where traffic conditions can get unbearable especially during the weekday rush hour. As an entrepreneur, you also must consider the time and cost of getting to your property. In a situation like this, you will be better off hiring a property manager.
3. How Many Rental Properties You Own?
The more rental properties you own, the more tenants you have. This means you will have more responsibilities, more maintenance issues, more complaints, and more vacancies to deal with, not to mention financial statements and tax returns to file. If you think you don’t have the time (and patience) to deal with all these, then hiring a property manager is highly recommended.
3. Can You Handle Tenant Screening?
Many seasoned property investors and managers will attest that screening your tenants very carefully will save you headache later on, because this will help you weed out potentially problematic tenants at a very early stage. A property manager has enough experience and understanding of the local leasing market to help you find the right tenant—one who will live up to the commitment set out in the lease contract.
4. Do You Have the Time—and Patience—to Maintain the Property?
As with any business venture, running a rental property business requires plenty of effort. You need to schedule cleaning and repairs for things damaged or showing wear and tear—and that’s just in between leases. There are tenants who will complain about anything you can think of: a lumpy mattress, leaking faucet, and broken window blinds, among other things. A property manager who can deal with all these, and manage to smile the entire time, is worth his or her weight in gold.
Do you have question about property to buy or to rent? Send us an email or tweet Lamudi Philippines using the hashtag #AskLamudi
