Landlording involves building a business to collect rent payment and generate income while providing housing to customers (tenants). Some landlords prefer to do everything on their own, and some prefer to take a more hands off approach and hire a property management company to do it all. And then there are some landlords that want to control some aspects of the business – like filling vacancies – while turning over other responsibilities – like maintenance and rent collection – to a property management company. In any event, the benefits of hiring a property management company come at a cost as they charge fees for their services. We’ll take a look at some landlording responsibilities and the pros and cons of doing it yourself or hiring a property management company.
Collecting Rent
As a landlord, there is nothing more important than getting paid through consistent on-time rent collection.
| Pros | Cons | |
| DIY | +Know your tenant +Use an online rent payment service like ClearNow to simplify process | -Deal with delinquent tenants -Need to understand eviction process |
| Property Management Company | +Enforce lease policies for late or unpaid rent +Use online rent payment services like ClearNow to directly deposit owner proceeds | -Pay property management fee typically as a % of rent collected |
Advertising/Listing Properties
Before you can collect rent payment, you have to fill your vacancy. Knowing where and how to place your ads are important tasks to finding the right tenant.
| Pros | Cons | |
| DIY | +Easy to list vacancy online with high-traffic websites like Zillow. | -Need to manage inquiries and property visits |
| Property Management Company | +Expertise at rental marketing to fill vacancies quickly +Have local real estate knowledge to help set competitive rents | -Pay property management fee |
Final Considerations
The benefits of hiring a property management company to collect rent and advertise vacancies, in the least, will likely be based on finding a balance among effort, time, and money. If you can afford the expense of a property management company to free up time and reduce headaches, then that is a win for both parties. At the same time, many of today’s landlord resources have features that benefit both the property manager and owner, like ClearNow’s owner proceeds. As a landlord, you have choice to make the decision easier of whether or not to hire a property management company.