This is not a question that has an easy answer, especially when there are several key items to consider to get a good picture of what property investment is all about.

For those in the know, self-management to property investment is a good choice only if you have a good knowledge of how to run the business or have been involved in such a venture with years of hands-on experience.

So, what if you are new to the business?

Frankly, there’s nothing to hold you back from dipping your hands into self-management because you might just be able to get it going. 

But the point is, running a property investment for the first time can be very challenging and rife with trial-and-error situations that can sometimes be too daunting for the faint of heart.

Understanding the risks

If self-management is an option that you are considering, ask yourself first if you have the skill-set, knowledge, or management background to allow you to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of such an arrangement.

Choosing the self-management route means you bear the full weight of the responsibility that comes with marketing, operating and maintaining your property investment asset such as advertising, sourcing tenants, complying with regulatory requirements and legal obligations, and resolving conflicts between tenants, just to name a few.

On the flip side, you can avail of the services of a dedicated professional property manager, who assumes the responsibilities of the landlord and reports directly to you as the client. This option, of course, allows you to focus on your primary responsibilities and entrust the administration of your asset to the manager.

The key to this is to calculate your risks and determine what suits you best.

Finding clients or tenants

Regardless of whether your property asset is a residential rental, flipping properties or a commercial venture, you need to have tenants or clients to keep it going. This is the primary aim of venturing into property investment.

This can be a very tedious process which those who self-manage may miss out on, especially those who inherited tenants or clients after a turn-over of assets to a new owner or investor.

In this case, there may be tenants who are nearing the end of their lease contracts and decide to look somewhere else, which is something that the new manager must deal with.

Also, landlords will have to place ads to fill vacancies and usually end up in a waiting game because other than advertising, they fail to get immediate responses in the absence of a tenant database or network.

Unlike professional property managers or agencies that maintain their database where they can easily contact candidates who are out in the market for a place to rent.

Screening for the right tenants

Generally, tenants looking for a rental property without the aid of an agent are likely to have a bad history with previous rental properties and at the same time are not very knowledgeable about the rental process and go the way of advertised listings to avoid background checks.

Self-management rentals are prone to such practices because private landlords do not have access to the database as those maintained by property managers. 

The screening process usually ends up on a gamble by the landlord relying on nothing else but instinct and the word of the prospective tenant regarding their past rental experiences.

Requisites and documentations

There’s a tendency for private landlords to set aside documentation and formalities in the absence of it from tenants, which can sometimes be crucial elements in the event a landlord-tenant conflict situation arises.

For instance, the lack of ensuring inventory forms, sign-off sheets, disclaimers or waivers could result in settlements that could end up not favourable for the landlord.

Property managers, on the other hand, are more familiar with such matters and have foreseen such instances that could occur in the future and know-how to ensure they protect and preserve the interests of the property investment client.

Assurance of protection of investment assets and income

Keeping track of assets on inventory, management of property and other ministerial matters may demand more time, patience and attention for private landlords. 

Such concerns can be excellently addressed by dedicated property managers to provide rental property owners with peace of mind and take a load off their shoulders to focus on their important functions and responsibilities.

Expenses and costs

Regardless of whether the rental property is new or an existing one, property investors may not be able to know the salient matters and intricacies of how to expertly determine and forecast market-appropriate elements and factors.

Without the proper ideas on how to go about acquiring one, investors could stand shell out more to fill the missing elements and extend beyond the set budget.

It’s your choice

Ultimately, the decision whether to self-manage or employ a property management service relies on your assessment of your capabilities and understanding of how you plan to take on your property investment journey.