Wow! This is one article I love to write about, because it gets to the heart of why you are investing in Real Estate in the first place. First of all, let's disclose. I own multiple investment properties, and I also have a stake in property management as well. So I know the benefits and pitfalls of each. Also, there are different types of personalities that are suited for each (we will discuss those briefly too). I have seen many articles and public forum entries that suggest “all the property manager does is collect the rent, so you should self manage.” That is an interesting, but shortsighted observation. It is also what every Real Estate investor wishes for (simply collecting rent), but unfortunately, rarely receives.

KEY CONCEPTS TO CONSIDER FOR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT. Most (including myself) will say the goal in owning investment real estate is for long term investment and passive income. Aha! ........(Click on read more below)

We often get asked the question, “Why do some companies have very low monthly management fees, and others higher? Is it just a case of one company costing me less?” A simple cliché comes to mind, “You get what you pay for.” In this case it is even worse. You think you are paying less, when in reality, the cheaper company is charging you more. In general, it probably costs a good management company 7-8% of your monthly rent to properly manage your property. That means they have enough staff to show the property personally (make sure they do that and that they don’t give strangers lockbox codes to your house!), run full credit checks, have dedicated personnel coordinating maintenance, rent collection, legal coordination and so forth. That leaves 2-3% of your rental income to their bottom line.

Ever wonder if you should self manage your rental property or turn it over to a professional company? When I first started investing in Arizona 15 years ago, I asked myself a better question. Would I manage my neighbors property by advertising, screening tenants, signing the lease, collecting rent, taking maintenance calls at all hours and coordinating with vendors, and gathering data for evictions, all while following the Landlord Tenant Laws for a measly $100 a month? The answer was obviously no way.