A common topic when discussing rental property investments is property management. Should you manage your own property or have someone do it for you. Generally it is a good idea to have a professional manager look after your property. There are exceptions e.g. you are living in one half of a duplex where you can manage the other unit.

We recommend Gulf Coast Property Management Llc, located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for managing property in this area. The will perform all of the tasks required from interviewing prospective tenants to collecting the rent and supervising maintenance. A passive investor can be assured that their investment is well looked after when using a property manger with the right credentials.

Why use a property manager over doing it yourself? There are a number of good reasons why and I will list a few here:

  1. No skills required on the part of the investor.
  2. No confrontation with tenants over rent increases etc.
  3. Rents are collected and deposited into Clients accounts
  4. No calls at night about a broken water pipe, they go directly to the property manager.
  5. Property manager spends much time fielding calls for vacant apartments after working up and placing ads
  6. They work for a fixed fee, you always know what it will cost.
  7. No need to leave your job to cut the lawn for fix something.

I could go on but most passive investors have already concluded that it’s difficult to manage property when they have full time jobs. Often properties are not located near the investor which requires a property manager.

Yes, there can be downsides if you pick wrong. I had an experience where a Real Estate agent was acting as my property manager in Nevada. He collected the rents and never paid me. He of course lost his license but that did not pay me back. There are risks with everything and this is one that I lost on. Over the years however, I have had good relationships with property managers who looked after my property as if it were theirs.

Most property managers charge about 10% of the rental income. They charge a set up fee and they retain all late fees and fines. You reimburses them or provide a credit card when there is a purchase e.g. refrigerator which you pre-approve depending upon your arrangement.