However, while numerous property investors make a lot of money, only a few gain time freedom. Most property investors exchange their former lives as underpaid and overworked 9-5 workers for life as overworked investors. Their income is still tied to their time spent on their business.
For such investors, property investing is not a source of passive income. There is a limit to how many properties they can effectively oversee because of finite time and energy resources. They must invest in properties in their immediate geography. But worst of all is the stress they have to live with daily.
For investors who are enduring, rather than enjoying, their life as a real estate there are only two ways to solve this problem:
- Sell their investment properties and redirect their capital into other assets. The problem with doing this is no additional investment offers investors the advantages they get from real estate investing.
- The second and better option is to separate their physical presence from the daily operations of their investment properties by hiring a professional property manager to oversee the assets.
Should you hire a property manager as an investor struggling to reconcile the expectations and realities of being a property investor? The real question is: how much value do you place on your time and mental health? That is about whether you will sacrifice some of your profits for a simpler and more accessible life.
The truth is it costs money to hire a property manager. But you need to pay more attention to the cost. To know the true value that a property manager brings, you must look at the price you are paying to oversee your investment properties personally. You should ask yourself how long you can continue to live like that.
The Upkeep Media Inc. team says hiring a property manager is about two things: freedom and sustainability.
Actual investors take a long-term view of their investments. In their lifetime, they want to start building a framework that makes it possible for those investments to keep functioning even beyond their lifetime. This is the difference between real estate investing as a foundation for generational wealth and real estate investing as a side hustle.
Finding a trusted property manager should be a fundamental part of your property investment strategy, not an afterthought. That is the central element that unlocks your investment’s potential as a reliable source of passive income. It allows you to retain those assets in your family and eventually pass them on to your offspring.
What to look for when hiring a property manager
The sad fact is that most property managers cannot be trusted. They are more interested in making a quick dollar than helping their clients build a long-term business. That is why the process you use to find a property manager matters. To find the right person or company, here are the things you should use as your qualifying criteria.
To find the best property managers, you should talk to property investors who are more successful than you are. Ask for recommendations from the best handymen in your area. Talk to highly-rated realtors and estate agents. These types of property managers will often have high standards for the clients they accept. But that is precisely what you need.
2. References and reputation
Ask the property manager for a list of references. When contacting those references, look for clients who have been with the property manager for a long time. Ask the property manager’s permission to visit the clients’ properties. Don’t just talk to the client; take them to lunch if possible. You are trying to establish the quality of that client, their property, and the tenants in the building.
3. Personalization
The number of properties a property manager has under management is essential; you don’t want to be lost in a crowd. Does the property manager interview you to see if you fit their business? Will they work with you to create a sustainable management plan? Are they willing to connect you with competent financial planners who will help you streamline your objectives and strategy?
Look for companies more interested in building relationships than making money. Everyone is in it to make money. But intelligent entrepreneurs know they make more money when they build lasting relationships. If a property management company values people above profits, you should consider doing business with them.