How to Save Money by Hiring a Property Manager
Are you a first-time property investor wondering if being a landlord will ever get easier? Would you love to hand over your landlord duties to someone else, but you’re not sure if it’s worth the cost?
Keep reading because this article will help you understand how hiring a property manager is worth the investment – and will save you money at the same time.
What does a property manager do for investors?
To understand how a property manager will save you money, it’s important to understand what they do for investors. The short answer is that property managers take over landlord responsibilities and handle legal issues on behalf of property investors. Some of the tasks taken over include, but aren’t limited to the following:
- Tenant screening
- Showing vacancies
- Marketing vacant units
- Rent collection
- Serving eviction notices
- Serving lease change notices
- Handling repairs and maintenance
- Fielding emergency calls 24/7
- Managing additional property-related services, like landscaping
Property managers can handle just about any duty you have as a landlord, and some companies will even take over your property-related bills. For example, some companies will manage your property taxes, mortgage payments, and insurance premiums.
As you can see, you’ll have more time to yourself when you don’t have to be a landlord.
Less time worked means more time to invest
If you’re constantly running around being a landlord, chasing late rent and scheduling repairs, you won’t have much time to focus on building your investment portfolio. This is the biggest reason to hire a property manager. If you’re actively trying to acquire investment properties to preserve your long-term wealth, you won’t get very far when you’re doing all the hard work.
The more time you can free up by handing over your landlord duties, the more time you’ll have to pursue investment opportunities and manage your existing investments. Maybe you have other revenue-generating projects to tend to outside of real estate.
Whatever you’re working on, it will be more successful when you can commit more of your time and energy.
A property manager’s expertise can save you plenty of money
In addition to freeing up your time, a property manager can also get several important things done more efficiently, given their experience and expertise.
- A property manager can reduce vacancies
There are several reasons a property will become vacant. Either a tenant has moved out, been evicted, or you’re performing renovations. It’s normal to have vacancies, but the longer your property is vacant, the more money you lose.
A property manager will help you fill vacancies fast, which means you’ll start collecting rent again sooner than later.
- A property manager will choose high-quality tenants
Bad tenants can cost you thousands of dollars in lawsuits, damages, and unpaid rent. When you hire an experienced property manager, they’ll set high standards for applicants and screen every tenant upholding those high standards.
Just as they’ll know how to spot good tenants, they’ll know how to spot the bad ones, including “professional tenants” who have made it their mission to scam landlords.
- Property managers get a lower cost for repairs
When property management companies hire contractors for repairs and maintenance, they often get good deals with local companies. They get good deals because they can supply the contractors with an abundance of work, and it benefits everyone involved.
Repairs aren’t usually cheap, so when you work with a property management company, they’ll pass on the savings to you. In fact, that’s one of the benefits they often advertise to landlords.
- Property managers won’t let tenants slide
When you’re the one interacting directly with tenants, it’s tempting to give them breaks on late rent and let other things slide, like minor lease violations. Doing this will create a problem for you because tenants get used to special treatment and come to expect it all the time. If you excuse late rent once, they’ll expect it again.
Being too lenient with your tenants is a good way to lose control of your property and lose some income. When you have a property manager, that won’t happen. They won’t give your tenants chances to slide out of their commitments outlined in their lease.
When the rent is late, they’ll be charged a late fee. If they don’t pay the rent, your property manager will start the eviction process and replace them with a tenant who will pay on time.
Save more money by working with a property manager
When you work with a property manager, your rental properties will become more efficient and therefore more profitable. If saving money is your goal, hire a property manager as soon as possible.