Why do landlords choose to manage their own properties? The goal is often to save money, but does it actually work? Let’s check the math.
Meet Mike.
Mike moved out of state for a new job. He wanted to keep his house as a rental property and decided he would try to rent it out himself. After several weeks, his house sat vacant. After spending $140 on an ad in the newspaper, $10 on a “For Rent” yard sign, and losing $400 in lost rent as the home stayed vacant, he still couldn’t find a tenant to rent his house for $900 a month.
Mike decided it was time to hire a professional property management company and he called HomeRiver Group. Just three days after hiring HRG, his home rented for $995, earning him $95 more per month.
The $550 he lost by doing it himself was more than double the amount he would have paid HomeRiver Group to get his property rented quickly for $95 more than he was asking.
So why do homeowners continue to self-manage?
They think it’s easy and more cost effective. But is it really? Let’s look at the facts:
- The average vacancy loss of self-managing landlords is 30 days. Compare that with HRG’s average vacancy rate of under 14 days.
- It often takes a homeowner several weeks to complete maintenance requests and it definitely uses up precious evening and weekend time. Professionals, like the HomeRiver Group, can handle those maintenance requests in just a couple of days.
- To manage a property well, our team spends an average of 67.8 hours of management time per year, per property. For a self-managing landlord, that’s a lot of time taken out of nights and weekends.
When you work with HomeRiver Group, you get your time back
Think about what you earn in your own career on an hourly basis. That’s money you’re losing when you self-manage because you’re busy responding to tenants and handling maintenance. Protect your income and protect your time.
Let’s quickly review the benefits to Mike:
- Cost-effective advertising that works
- Higher quality tenants
- Lower vacancy rate
- Higher rental income
The Big Picture and the Bottom Line is this: You can earn more having a professional manage your property.
What else can you expect when you work with us?
- Quality and aggressive advertising
- Virtual Tours
- Thorough tenant screening
- Regular property inspections
- Detailed accounting
- Quick Payments
- Regular property updates
Are you ready to earn more from your rental property? Contact us at HomeRiver Group today to get started.
Author
Andrew L. Propst
MPM® CPM® CCIM®
