12 Signs You Need a Property Manager

by Patrick Freeze  6/25/2024
12 Signs You Need a Property Manager

A property manager can be your secret to success as a landlord. However, it can feel like a big transition, and it’s hard to know when you’re truly ready to take that jump. In certain situations, though, it might be outright necessary to make the upgrade. Here’s how you know if it’s time for you to get a property manager:

12 Signs You Need a Property ManagerMain Takeaways

As a landlord, there are many situations in which you may need a property manager. For instance, if you do not have formal real estate education, are located far away from your property, juggle multiple properties at once, and have other burdens that get in the way of keeping tenants completely satisfied, you may want one.

  1. You Resent the Day-to-Day Responsibilities

Many real estate investors want their properties to be passive investments. Although they want to be involved in the big decisions, like which properties to purchase, they are less enthusiastic about getting muddled in the day-to-day duties.

After all, repairs can be time-consuming. These needs might be urgent, and at inconvenient times, to boot. For example, during the weekend or the dead of night, the pipes could get blocked. Unfortunately, you can’t just ignore these calls because they’re inconvenient, as they snowball in severity.

A property manager in Northern Virginia can handle these arduous requests on your behalf. They can either handle the smaller issues themselves or coordinate outside specialist support. These issues include:

  • Lawn Maintenance
  • Pressure Washing
  • Preventative Maintenance
  • Plumbing Problems
  • Appliance Repairs
  • Drywall Patching
  • Other Issues Tenants Need Addressed

In essence, the residential property management will be your mediator in connecting tenants to solutions.

  1. You Struggle to Balance Your Job with Your Investments

Whether or not you want to manage your property, being able to do so in practice is a whole other matter. After all, properties have many gears that work together to keep them running, like repairs, maintenance, and other pillars.

Some people simply don’t have the time to address everything properly. And if you can’t give them the attention to detail they require, the property—and your tenants—can start spiraling quickly. There’s a reason 25% of tenants complain about having a bad landlord.

In these cases, it might be best to avoid any trouble before it starts and just contact a rental property manager. This way, you can protect your brand and tenant retention.

  1. You Keep Running into Mishaps as a Landlord

Even if you’re gung-ho and wide-eyed about being on the ground and getting things done, it might not go the way you imagine. Managing a rental business requires a proper real estate education. In other words, to oversee a property, you have to learn everything about residential property management.

What’s more, even this solution comes with a caveat. It’s easy enough to hit the books, but putting lessons into practice can take a lot of trial and error that tenants won’t tolerate. This is one time where you might just want a third party to take the reins of the situation.

  1. You Can’t Get to Your Property as Much as You Want – Or, You Have to Travel All the Time to Do It

If you live out of state, help isn’t just nice to have. It’s the only responsible option. Safe to say, renting out to tenants means that you’re responsible for their safety. You need to be ready and available when they have a repair need or, heaven forbid, an emergency. That’s simply not possible to do when you live states away.

Because of that, a rental property manager is critical for protecting you from character-assassinating accusations of negligence and even liability.

  1. You Have a Hard Time Collecting Delinquent Rent

Unfortunately, some tenants constantly pay their rent late. In turn, this means you’ll have to negotiate the payment plan with your tenant. Getting a payment out of these people can be like pulling teeth.

Needless to say, you don’t need that stress in your life. Luckily, your local property manager has dealt with this time and time again. They know how to stop this disaster in its tracks.

  1. You Have a Hard Time Finding Tenants

One of the biggest jobs that a rental property manager does is finding and screening tenants. For example, they can filter out tenants who might have dangerous backgrounds or who are known for being loud and unruly.

Because residential property management is their sole job, they can be more thorough in their research. As a result, this can save you from extensive property damage down the line.

  1. You Keep Using the Wrong Pricing Strategy

If you want to make an ROI, a solid pricing strategy is paramount for success. You need to factor in your potential rental income, real estate comps, maintenance expenses, amenity expenses, and other costs. To reach a strategy that encompasses all these costs, you need to learn a lot of financial know-how.

For example, you need to know the ins and outs of investment property analysis processes and comparative market analysis. Only then can you accurately determine your needed rental rate.

If you miscalculate this piece, it could be the domino that sends your other business aspects falling down. As such, you don’t want to play around with it. This is another area where professionals can help to ensure you’re in the right direction. They have specialized technologies in place for calculating the right prices.

  1. Your Vacancy Rates are High

A high vacancy rate is the bane of every property owner’s existence. It translates to negative cash flow for you. Eventually, you won’t be able to maintain your property at a baseline level, let alone keep it high-level enough to attract tenants. In essence, your business will be dead in the water.

To avoid this, a property manager can help upkeep the property and use their connections to attract tenants so that this issue ends.

  1. You Could Use a Second Pair of Eyes on Your Legal Compliance

Each location in the US poses differing legal regulations in all spheres of landlord-tenant relations, from evictions to accessibility to even pest control. You can navigate the nuances of all these laws yourself, or you can allow professionals to look into every nook and cranny of legal compliance.

  1. You’re Juggling Multiple Properties at Once

Each unit and tenant will inevitably encounter issues that must be resolved. For example, one unit might have a leaking faucet. Dealing with this one case can be time-consuming enough. It could take up a chunk of your day. Imagine multiplying that case…by dozens or even hundreds. If you don’t want to be floored with repair requests left and right, you’ll need help.

  1. Your Property is Part of an Affordable Housing Program

If your property is enrolled in an affordable housing program, there is extra yellow tape you must navigate. It can be extraordinarily helpful to have a business partner who thoroughly understands these rules. This way, you can comply with government policies appropriately.

  1. Handling Lease Violators

When tenants get to the point where they’re breaching their leases, things get much more tangled. For instance, your asset’s condition could be compromised, or the police could be forced to intervene in their situation.

On the milder end, you could handle these issues with renters directly. However, sometimes, the cases might blow up to the point that you need to use lawyers or go to court.

When this happens, residential property management firms can handle the hours and hours of proceedings for you. Even better, because they’re a united company, they have more safeguards against legal repercussions than one, solitary landlord.

Get Property Manager Support with PPM

There are countless reasons you may benefit from a property manager’s assistance. For instance, if you are pressed for time, own property from a distance, or juggle multiple properties at once, a rental property manager could take a huge burden off you. On the milder end, they could increase tenant satisfaction and retention. On a broader level, they can protect you from legal consequences, property damage, and more.

Choosing the right residential property management company is a crucial task, one that impacts all areas of your rental business. As such, you should choose a small, local business. One with years of experience in the rental industry, one whose team understands how overwhelming it is to be a landlord. One who gets just how important and delicate your business is, that knows it needs to be protected. We are here for you. Contact us today to safeguard your investment.



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