Everyone wants to save some dollars when it comes to self-managing your rental property as it seems (on the surface) simple enough!
However, managing the property yourself will likely be more problematic and costly than if you hired a quality property manager.
Here are FIVE COMPELLING REASONS why:
1- Property Managers Have Better Experience to Navigate Issues
There’s a vast difference in experience and navigating the issues and pitfalls with a property manager that has rented to hundreds, if not thousands, of applicants in their career lifetime versus your experience with renting to just a few.
A good property manager can usually recognise a potentially bad tenant within the very first stages of an application, whereas an inexperienced person will not see the minimal subtle warning signs and end up renting to a bad tenant with the awful results.
2- Bad Tenants Target Self-Managing Property Owners
A quality property manager has many stringent checks and identification requirements at the application stage, making it very difficult for a bad tenant to ‘get through the net’.
And bad tenants know this!
They will avoid going to an agency, and instead target self-managing owners who they know do not have the experience to know they are indeed a bad tenant covering a poor rental history with a trail of destruction.
3- Inability to Access Quality Landlord Protection Insurance
Quality agents have access to a quality landlord insurance cover that is unavailable to the property owner directly and can be accessed through their bank or even the local supermarket.
Inferior cover can have little to no protection and high excesses, limited cover on certain lease types, and no protection should extreme events occur like drug production and even pet damage.
4- Poor Quality Property Marketing (keeps your property empty longer)
Getting your property rented fast to the best tenant at the best rent is in everyone’s best interests, and to achieve this, quality property marketing needs to happen with quality photos, a detailed property market write-up, plus listed at the correct market rent that will result in it being tenanted quickly.
90% of the reason a quality tenant will choose your property over others is visual, so you need to ensure your marketing campaign will impress!
We have access to photo enhancing services, virtual tours and 3-D floor plans- tools that a DIY property owner does not have access to or feels aren’t necessary, but all make the difference in attracting the right tenant quickly to reduce expensive vacancy periods.
5- Getting Emotionally Involved (is a bad thing!)
When you have your tenant call you up and give you a story about why they cannot pay their rent, what will you do? Most property owners buckle right at this point and allow the tenant to get behind without putting any protective measures in place.
Your property manager is NOT emotionally involved and can navigate the pitfalls that come with late rent payments, keeping you at arm’s length.
Many property owners have lost thousands of dollars because they were ‘too nice’!
Just in this point alone, a quality property manager will save you countless hours of anguish and give you peace of mind.