A big question that many apartment owners ask themselves is do I need to hire a management company or property manager? It depends on several factors such as how many units and buildings you own and your budget. Although a good property manager can be worth his or her weight in gold, if you live within close proximity to the apartment building or you plan to reside on the premises and rent the other units out, it does not make sense to hire a property manager.

You may need a handyman and list of contractors and repairmen if you are not handy and cannot make repairs yourself. Also, if you only own one small building, you probably don’t need to hire a management company.

Advantages of Hiring a Property Management Company or Property Manager

Hiring a management company or onsite manager makes sense in the following instances:

· You live out of the area.

· You own multiple apartment units.

· You are too busy with other investments, family or your career.

· You have partners that can share the costs.

The advantages of using a property management company or onsite manager are:

· Your don’t have to be bothered with screening tenants, collecting rents and answering calls from tenants at all hours of the day and night requesting repairs or making complaints.

· You can spend time on more important matters and let the management company handle the day to collections of rents and repair issues.

· The management company keeps current on local rental law changes so your building is in compliance.

· They take care of unpleasant evictions.

It’s well worth the money to hire a management company or manager for these reasons.

Management fee costs vary so check around. Fees can range from 3% to over 15% of the monthly gross rent. Other companies charge a flat fee ranging from $50.00 to over $300 per month. It depends on the company, the services rendered, and the size of the building and number of units and how many buildings you own. Interview a few companies so that you can compare their fees and the services they provide. Get recommendations from other apartment owners, friends or family. Your real estate agent may be able to recommend a good property management company/manager as well.

Disadvantages

The following are disadvantages of using a property management company:

· Loss of tenants if your property manager does not take care of tenant requests and repairs quickly.

· They don’t keep you informed about serious matters regarding your property.

· Don’t return your phone calls promptly.

· Use inexperienced and unlicensed repairmen that don’t fix items properly.

Most people that own multiple apartment units and hire property management companies or onsite managers are happy with the services these companies or individuals offer. Although, there are occasions when you may have to go through a couple companies before you find the one that works for you. Using a property management company/manager makes life easier for you and gives you the freedom to spend more time with your family and concentrate on other important matters in your life.