How to Determine if You Need a Property Management Company

Rental properties remain in demand across the UK. In many urban areas, for example, young professionals stay at rental flats for a number of years before they are stable enough to buy their own homes. As such, owning a property for rent is always big business. For a landlord who owns a property for rent, one of the biggest decisions is whether to self-manage or consider hiring a property management firm. Before deciding on hiring one, there are a number of factors you need to consider.

What is a property management company?

One of the primary tasks of a property management company is to screen and find tenants for your rental property. They do this by using proven marketing strategies and channels. Another inclusion in their services is the collection of rental fees. They can also manage the maintenance and repairs, deal with tenant complaints and issues, and enforce eviction when needed. The property owner will pay them as a contractor and the relationship is not employer-employee.

When do you need to hire a property management company?

Certainly, the need to hire a management company is on a case by case basis. Not all landlords require the full services offered by  Gerald Eve Property management, especially if they want to remain in control of all the aspects related to renting out their property. Here are some considerations to determine whether or not a property management team is suitable for you:

  • The number of rental properties you own – a landlord is likely to need a property management team if there is more than one rental property to manage.
  • The landlord lives far from the rental property – another indication that you require the services of a property management team is when the property is located far from where you live. Dealing with the day to day issues of managing a property will be too difficult if you live far away.
  • The landlord does not want self-management – not all landlords like the challenge of searching for tenants, collecting rent, and addressing complaints from tenants. If you want to relinquish these responsibilities, a property management company can help.
  • You have limited time – landlords who like property management may not always have the time for all the responsibilities the job entails. This is true when the owner of the property has a day job. If you don’t have the time to fully manage the property, it may suffer eventually without the help of a professional property management firm.
  • You don’t want to employ a property manager – being an employer poses additional concerns for a landlord. As such, it is better to have a property management team which is hired as a contractor and not an employee of the landlord.

Hiring a property management firm indeed has a number of benefits. It can be a valuable asset which will help the landlord grow the business naturally. It is also the best way to relieve the stress involved with the complexities of dealing with difficult tenants.

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