If you own property and are managing it by yourself, you know what I’m talking about. You probably started investing in real estate because it made sense for your overall wealth portfolio.
Or your financial advisor said it was time to add real estate in order to better diversify your portfolio. So, you jumped in and thought, “Why pay someone to manage my property, I can do this myself. After all, how hard can it be.”
Three months in and you’re completely overwhelmed. Residents are sending in maintenance requests … to change a light bulb, residents are skipping out on their lease … because they want to live closer to downtown Denver, and, my favorite, residents are demanding free rent of a year … because they had a leaky faucet.
It’s not easy being a Centennial property manager, and it certainly isn’t something to take on all by yourself. If you’re still not interested in hiring a professional property manager to help you manage your newly acquired asset, consider the following to make it easier on you:
- Property Management Software with Online Capabilities. Managing every maintenance request, rent payment, lease addendum, new application, etc … is a lot to do via phone and email. After you acquire your third home, forget about it. You simply won’t have enough time to manage it all without software that empowers residents to complete every transaction electronically from paying rent to signing a lease renewal.
- A Professional Maintenance Provider with Property Management Experience. You didn’t become a real estate investor to fix leaky faucets, patch dry wall and caulk window sills. You expected this real estate investment gig to offer passive income. If you’re not going to hire a property management company, at least find an efficient maintenance company that can handle maintenance requests for you and keep you out of the home repair business.
- A Virtual Assistant. If you’re like most real estate investors, you have a day job that doesn’t involve real estate. Most real estate in the U.S. is owned by individuals who have gotten into the real estate investment world. You don’t have time to do your regular day job, whether you’re a dentist, a lawyer or a corporate executive, and manage your property alone. Think about hiring a virtual assistant to take phone calls, schedule appointments and do general admin work during the day while you earn your day job paycheck.
The bottom line is that property management is hard. Doing it alone is a mistake and will eventually make you regret becoming a real estate investor unless you seek some help. The best option is to hire a property manager in Centennial who is going to charge you 10 percent or less of the rent to manage your property. If that’s not possible, I implore you to find other assistance.
