There is a belief among some apartment investors that they can get away without having a professional property management person/company on site in order to keep more cash in their pockets. The stark reality is that next to collecting the rents, property management is at the top of the list of essentials in the apartment investing market.
The average size for an apartment complex is a few hundred units. This means that at the very least, the owner has 40 hours of daily work tasks. These tasks need to be done with the occupants’ schedules in mind, not just that of the owner. This creates a very interesting dilemma for any of the property investor who believes that a 40-hour per week on site employee is either unnecessary or unwarranted. A simple table will demonstrate why it is important to employ a property manager on site, at least on a part-time basis.
Four Good Reasons to Keep a Great Property Manager on Site
- Professional Presence: many residents prefer and expect a person on site
- Customer Service Advocate: Provides for a professional appearance (good for marketing purposes)
- Maintenance Issues: If there is no dedicated maintenance person on site the professional property manager will know who to call, or will do the repair himself
- Rent Collection: Collector of the rents
The issues listed above are very important and very real. This is just a small sampling of the reasons that can be made to justify good property management for achieving apartment-investing success. Many other reasons are common sense and need no further defining. The apartment investor realizes all too well that the risk of failure and problems in the business of renting units to strangers is relatively high. The nature of this business just screams for the property to be adequately protected – by a professional on-site during at least the early morning to late afternoon hours.
When it comes time to write the check to the purchase the property, make certain that you figure in an additional percentage to account for this additional expense. This will make it that much easier for you to bite the bullet and hire your property manager.
Are There Reasons Not to Employ an On Site Property Manager?
Yes. The size of the apartment complex will dictate what type of management you will need. However, the tasks involved in owning and operating an apartment investment are so monumentally challenging that the reasons for not employing a trained professional are none. There could be some markets where the rentals can be seen as almost homeownership by the clientele/tenants. These are the properties that can possibly get away with not maintaining an on-site property management professional.
Dave Lindahl has been active in investment real estate for nearly 20 years. Within his first 14 months of investing in apartment buildings, Dave earned a positive cash flow of more than $10,300 per month. Within 3½ years Dave Lindahl became a multi-millionaire. To discover how to take advantage of this recovering market and get a five-step proven formula to show you how create a $9,700 month to month passive income, go to www.rementor.com/freebookoffer and receive a FREE copy of David Lindahl’s new book “Massive Passive Income – The Real Estate Investors Guide To Prosper In A Recovering Market.” Available FREE while supplies last!