If you are a property investor, you know how lucrative and rewarding owning and managing a rental property can be. You also understand the amount of time, effort, and skills property management demands for continued profitability. While most upcoming investors choose to maintain and manage their own properties, as their investment portfolios grow, they have to consider hiring a property manager.

Ian is a good example. He is a successful property investor by all measures with a portfolio of individual units and several multifamily properties. He was referred to us at the peak of the 2017 Boston luxury housing boom. 

Ian was initially hesitant to outsource the management of his property to a professional, despite his busy schedule. However, by the time his portfolio read ten units and he was renting directly to college students, it was apparent he needed a professional to streamline operations and automate billing processes.

As a property investor, homeowner, or real estate agent, you should base the decision to hire a professional property manager on the amount of help you need to manage your properties. A property manager comes in as a partner to leverage technology and professional skills to make your work easier and help increase your return on investment.

Thinking it may be time to bring in the pros? Here are three reasons why you should seriously consider hiring a professional property manager.

1. Let The PM Ensure Compliance with Regulations

There is a whole library of laws and regulations that govern rental properties with which both landlords and tenants must comply. When you have more than a handful of properties to manage, the effort it takes to ensure compliance and prove it to tenants and arbitrators becomes a bit too much.

A professional property manager has the know-how and experience to handle compliance issues and difficult tenants. They can help you avoid unnecessary lawsuits and drama by ensuring your properties always comply with all applicable laws. When it comes to evictions and late rent payments, it pays to have a professional on your side.

A property manager views your properties as a business. It is in their best interest to maximize the profitability of your money and time. It is noteworthy that property managers offer a range of services that you can personalize based on your needs. For instance, you can hire a manager to collect rent and pay bills while retaining your current contractor to handle repairs and renovations.

2. Set The Right Rates and Find The Right Tenants

How do you determine how much you should charge for rent? If you go through the classifieds to realize other landlords charge more or less, you are not doing enough research. Because we live in difficult and unpredictable times, property prices are highly volatile, and the market shows so.

A professional property management company is better positioned to help you with which types of tenants to target and how much to charge for rent. This strategy will ensure a perfect balance between maintaining a low vacancy rate and maximizing your monthly income.

Rental property managers, in particular, will know the right marketing and advertising channels to help you reach your target market. There are a lot of places where you can list your available apartments for rent...are you choosing the right ones? A property manager will have insight into which listing services give you the best quality leads that turn into long-term renters.

If you are on the fence as to whether or not you should hire a property manager, consider all the time you spend worrying about tenants, payments, or unfilled vacancies. It would cost much less to let a professional resolve such problems in the shortest time possible.

3. Timely Monthly Collections and Deposits

If you know how a billing department works, you will agree that getting tenants to pay on time without making it awkward can be difficult. They never seem to understand the cost of a day in late payments. Coordinating rent collection, following up with payment receipts, and ensuring timely payment to service providers can be tasking and time-consuming.

The best property management companies use sophisticated software to streamline rent collection and bill payments. If you still have to shuffle invoices and receipts in paper files, you may need to talk to a property manager. At CHARLESGATE, we use a tried-and-tested client management system that automatically handles rent collection, payment escalation, and other charges. This system enables our PMs to share detailed financial performance reports which help you make efficient investment decisions.

Condominium owners looking to invest in Boston may find it hard to get unbiased expert guidance on properties in and outside the city. Real estate agents may have too many vested interests to offer the best advice. On the other hand, a property manager will have the most transparent picture of what a homeowner should consider before investing in a rental property.

How To Know a Property Manager Will Help You

When it comes down to it, there are only three reasons to consider hiring a property manager:

1. To maximize the profitability of your time
2. To maximize the profitability of your investment
3. To relieve the property owner of unnecessary responsibility

As Boston's real estate market continues to flourish, investors and even homeowners are recognizing the value property managers offer, especially to investors with multiple properties. An experienced property manager executes the landlord's strategies to maximize income, minimize costs, and increase profits.

Our property management company helped Ian grow his two units to over 10 within a few years. While he did all the hard work, our management skills came in handy to handle 'all the other stuff.' As an investor, Ian has the room to focus on building his portfolio while the property manager puts into action his preferred strategies to earn the most from his investments.

Take The Next Step

There is a lot more a professional property management company can offer homeowners, real estate agents, property investors, and businesses interested in the Boston real estate market. If you would like to talk to experienced professionals, request a free proposal for property management services.