I think that a big part of it is A) Knowledge & B) Emotion. I'm a PM so you would think I would be straight on the side of paying someone who is supposed to be a professional, however, I've met some landlords who self manage and they do a fantastic job. They know the legislation, they know what they need to do & how to keep the tenants doing what they need to. They also keep good records etc. etc.
Then there are the landlords who try to take it on without the knowledge or the desire to learn, it's their house they'll do what they want when! It leads to nightmare situations where tenants are still in the house months after their last rent payment because that landlord does what they want when and have never issued the right notice
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Lastly are the landlords who have a huge emotional attachment to the house and then manage it themselves. Those are landlords who often leave inspections in tears, not because the tenants are bad but they aren't perfect and aren't keeping your childhood home the way you want it kept.
I think that as long as your investments are a business and you're willing to learn if you don't yet have the knowledge then the amount that you can manage will be entirely up to you. 5, 10, 20 or 50 properties. One day you may decide that you're ready to hand it all over to someone else but I think the number that you manage will depend entirely on your life and what you want from your investments. Are they something you want to be involved in or are they something to set you free and you want someone else to deal with the day to day rubbish? There is no shame in shopping around to find a good PM when you get to that point.
You'll never really appreciate a good PM until you have a bad tenant and you'll probably never be overwhelmed by it all when you self-manage until you get a bad tenant too!.
Then there are the landlords who try to take it on without the knowledge or the desire to learn, it's their house they'll do what they want when! It leads to nightmare situations where tenants are still in the house months after their last rent payment because that landlord does what they want when and have never issued the right notice
. Lastly are the landlords who have a huge emotional attachment to the house and then manage it themselves. Those are landlords who often leave inspections in tears, not because the tenants are bad but they aren't perfect and aren't keeping your childhood home the way you want it kept.
I think that as long as your investments are a business and you're willing to learn if you don't yet have the knowledge then the amount that you can manage will be entirely up to you. 5, 10, 20 or 50 properties. One day you may decide that you're ready to hand it all over to someone else but I think the number that you manage will depend entirely on your life and what you want from your investments. Are they something you want to be involved in or are they something to set you free and you want someone else to deal with the day to day rubbish? There is no shame in shopping around to find a good PM when you get to that point.
You'll never really appreciate a good PM until you have a bad tenant and you'll probably never be overwhelmed by it all when you self-manage until you get a bad tenant too!
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