Are you thinking of becoming a landlord? Owning a property and renting it out is a great way to enlarge your income. However, especially if you are a first time property owner, there may be a limit to how effective you can be. It's never a wise idea to stretch yourself too thin.
Here are the top 5 reasons you should not self manage multiple properties.
1. It's a Major Commitment
One of the biggest reasons that you shouldn't be a landlord of multiple properties is because of the sheer amount of time, energy, and money that will be involved. You will literally have to be your own boss, your own manager, and your own team of employees.
The amount of work that will be involved may find you stretching yourself thin. Your time and energy could be better served by investing in other assets.
2. You'll Have to Wear Too Many Hats
One of the biggest reasons why it's smart to have a property mangement company handle multiple properties is the sheer number of hats that you will be forced to wear if you try to do it all by yourself. These may include everything from owner, manager, handy man, customer rep, and security guard to accountant and marketing expert.
As can be seen, this is a lot of stuff to have on your plate. Now imagine having to be all of these things at a multitude of different properties. One of the things that can also become tough, is the amount of knowledge that you must know about the laws and regulations. Do you know about maintenance? Do you know the laws, have networking capabilities needed to manage properly?
3. It's Hard to Be at Your Best
Even managing a single property is quite a drain. You need to be on top of every little thing that may occur. This may include damage from a flood, the effects of a feud between neighbors, or a fire that breaks out at the property next door. You will find yourself being called on to take care of a huge number of unexpected events.
If you try to manage a number of properties all at once by yourself, you can expect to not be at your best. You'll be stretched impossibly thin between multiple events going on at once. It can become extremely time consuming and will become a massive commitment long term.
4. It's Too Hard to Stay Focused
One of the ultimate reasons why you should turn things over to a management company is because you will simply find it too hard to stay focused. You may have plenty of other activities that you need to attend to outside of your landlord duties. You are likely to miss out on spending time with your loved ones or enjoying your free time on the weekends.
5. There's a Lot of Risk Involved
Being on a property under bad weather conditions is a risky thing. Being present during a dispute between tenants that you find yourself in the middle of can be quite dangerous. You need to make sure that you have the proper policies and procedures to help mitigate these risks.
Why It's Smart To Have A Property Management Company Handle Multiple Properties
There is another alternative that is well worth considering. Have you ever thought about why it's smart to have a property management company handle multiple properties? The time, effort, and money that it takes to do it all by yourself can be invested in a much safer and easier way by letting an expert handle these issues on your behalf.
Even managing two properties could get to be a hassle after a while. It may be better for you to cast your attention toward becoming a property investor rather than hands-on landlord. A property management company can take all of the hard decisions off your hands while making you plenty of money.
