For many property owners, the next step after buying an investment property decides whether they want to manage it themselves or hire a property management company.
Hiring an independent real estate manager is also a way, but if you have a tight budget and instead save on management, you can choose to manage your investment properties yourself. But is saving money worth the effort to manage ongoing management and care alone? Let’s look at the pros and cons. 
Owning property by hiring an Asset Manager
Before choosing a DIY or hiring manager, you should consider the agency’s fees and services. Agency fees are usually based on a percentage of the monthly rent, as well as additional expenses incurred such as advertising and marketing costs, preparation of required paperwork, and hiring contractors. The cost will also depend on where your property is located, the current market supply and demand, and the services offered by the property manager.
It is also important to know what responsibilities a responsible landlord has. Some of your key responsibilities will include rent collection, dealing with tenants that are late on rent, implementing late rent fees and managing evictions.
You are also requested to provide a standard accommodation agreement which must include the following:
• Rental time
• Conditions for future increase in monthly rent
• Maintenance inspections schedule
• An animal agreement where you clearly state whether you allow pets in your area. If your property is suitable for animals, you should include additional regulations regarding animal husbandry and animal care
• A status report in which you provide a detailed description of the location. The status report should include high quality images
Knowing obligations and legal rights associated with managing a property
If you are currently dependent on the management of your property, then you should begin to familiarize yourself with the obligations you have, as well as your legal rights. State laws and regulations are likely to change frequently, so staying current should be a priority.
Before tenants can enter, you are responsible for ensuring that the goods are safe, secure, and clean, and that all the equipment and equipment shown in the advertisement is in good working order.
Once tenants have moved in, it will be your responsibility to manage maintenance and repair work in a timely manner and to have good relations with tenants.
Set rent in accordance with current market conditions
While you are still thinking about what you will charge for rent, it is important to find a balance between what you think you should accept and what your local market can offer.
Once you have come to the right solution, find an easy payment method, and start deciding with your tenants. Don’t forget to set up a late rent fee.
Finding out if a tenancy applicant has a bad rental history
As a self-managed property owner, it may not be easy to make background tenancy checks on your potential tenants. A qualified property manager may be able to access these resources.
However, property owners may have access to these platforms, but will have to pay a fee. By requesting an online rental report from a tenant, you will learn whether they made the right choice or not. If tenants have a bad hiring history, you should consider rejecting their hiring application.
Managing the property
When managing your property, you may need to deal with emergencies yourself too. This can happen unexpectedly at night. As a property manager, you will need to make sure your tenants are safe and find the right ways to minimize damage.
Some of the typical property management tasks you will need to handle are:
• Plumbing
• Electricity
• Appliances
• Fixtures
• Utility connections
To protect your investment property, regular maintenance checks and records of any events and observations should be made. Feedback should also be forwarded to your tenants, as well as clear instructions on how the issues will be handled.
The best thing you can do when you have plumbing, or electrical problems is to hire licensed professionals.
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