Property Management Firms: What Good Are They?
In Phoenix, there is a new renting class — people who have been homeowners for years and now find that they are in a position where they need a home to rent due to a short sale or foreclosure.
And there are also investors coming in and buying properties “on the cheap” (?) who are first time investors and have never actually managed a property as an investment before.
Should I Use A Property Management Firm?
And at different times in the last few weeks, people from both of these groups have asked me “should I use a property management firm?” And based on my many conversations with my friend who happens to run a Las Vegas Property Management company, my answer has been “well, it depends on what kinds of things you care about”. There is no one right reason to use a property management firm (or not) — there are only shades of gray, so to speak.
But here are just a few of the benefits of using a property management firm…
For Investors:
- When you work with a quality property management company, they take care of all of the accounting. Don’t under-estimate this. Things like rent collection, deposits and pretty much all-things accounting.
- Finding tenants. Many times finding tenants can be painful. Finding the “right” tenants is what you really want – and a property management company takes care of this.
- Managing the maintenance. Broken toilet at 2am? If you have a property management company in place, they are taking care of it – not you. If you don’t have a property management company in place, be ready for that call because it will come sooner or later.
For Tenants:
- Most of the time, if you work with a property management company, they will be local. Which means that even if the landlord lives out-of-state, you will still have someone who can respond in person when needed.
- A property management company has experience – they are not someone who has just bought their first investment property and is making-it-up-as-they-go-along.
So…should you use a property management firm?
It depends.
