Should You Self-Manage or Hire a Property Manager?
Nov 12th, 2022
We get many calls from Owners that could not decide if they should choose to self manage their rental property or hire a Property Manager. In this article we will discuss the 4 key factors owners should consider when making the decision.
#1 - Do I have the time?
If you are running a business, have a full time job or have to take care of young children, you have a busy lifestyle and if you are also going to self-manage your property, you need to think very hard about that.
When you are advertising the property and a prospective tenant calls, if you are at work and you cannot pick up the phone and give that potential tenant information about the property, that's going to impact your ability to rent the unit quickly. You need to be able to respond quickly to applicants as they come in, and to your current tenant once they are in place. Time commitment is one of the main reasons why people choose to hire a property management company.
When that 3:00 AM phone rings, the furnace is not working. Are you going to take that call? Are you going to keep your phone by the bed?
#2 - Do I know the law and rules?
This is a big deal nowadays when it comes to property management. Are you familiar with the Alberta Residential Tenancies Act and all the rules and laws protecting the tenants. Do you know the Privacy Laws protecting tenants and their personal information? Do you know the rules in regards to Minimum Housing Standards In Alberta? Do you know the rules on how to deal with a Break In or Pest Issues? Do you know the guidelines in place for domestic abuse? You need to know this. Not only what they are, but specifically how you navigate that.
What are you going to do if a prospect calls or your tenant calls and says "Can I bring in a service animal?" If you answer wrong in that one question, your tenant can file a complaint to Alberta Human Rights Commission.
Do you know how to prepare a vacating statement and settle the tenant’s security deposit within the required time frame? Do you know the rules as it relates to terminating a tenancy or doing an inspection?
You have to know the law if you're going to self manage.
#3 - Do you have the temperament?
Owners contact us after self managing for a period of time and they call us and say "I just can't do this anymore. My tenant's driving me nuts and I don't have the temperament for it. I get too upset at them and it's just turning combative." You need to be able to ensure that you have that proper temperament to deal with your tenants. You've got to be fair and yet be firm. It's hard to do.
As the landlord, when you self manage your property, you want to be the nice guy, but sometimes we find that tenants will push as far as we let them push us. Make sure that you are being firm but fair and do not get overly emotional. It's an investment property.
#4 - Do you have the knowledge?
You got to know a lot about this industry. Do you know how you are going to advertise your property? Do you know what questions you are going to ask to pre-qualify the potential tenant before you even allow them to fill out an application? How are you going to process that application? How are you just going to look at their credit report? Are you going to do a background report, landlord reference and employment? How are you going to ensure that their pay stub is real and not fake paperwork?
You need to have a keen sense of the industry, the economy, employment situations, any changes to the rules such as impacts of cannabis legislation and restrictions that were imposed during the pandemic.
You need to have the knowledge on the front end because you do not want to learn on your own property. You want to hire someone that has learned previously and you can benefit from their knowledge.
Rental properties should be managed as a business. If you have the time, know the law, have the right temperament and knowledge about the business, then maybe you should self-manage your property. If not, then, it might be best to have your property professionally managed.