Are you a property owner in Brooklyn and stuck between managing it on your own or hiring a professional? Is this your first real estate investment and you are short thinking where and how you can begin to understand what you will need to do? We will tell you everything and more. Stay with us.
Brooklyn, over the years, has courted young families, professionals, and academicians thanks to its above-average public schools and universities, and artists that have called Brooklyn their home. A lot of them have gone ahead and invested their life earnings in order to be able to earn out of it.
Hiring property managers is not necessary if the investor is ready to manage their properties. Managing their property can leave them with a good saving of about 10 to 12 percent of the rental value of their property. But even with the lure of saving all that money on management fees, it is noticed that most homeowners eventually hire a professional managing company because managing rental property is no cakewalk. It brings tons of landlord responsibilities that drain their time, energy, and resources.
If you are someone that is still sitting on the fence, we have curated a list of reasons why hiring property managers for your property in Brooklyn is a step in the right direction:
- First-time property investors have no clear understanding of their role:
Property owners who are just starting understandably lack clear knowledge of the management needs on their properties. Most of them are not mentally or physically prepared for their roles as the landlord. The few lucky ones may find a property that requires very little to maintain, but most of them usually are in for a not-so-pleasant surprise. Unless you have an exceptional amount of time at your disposal and communication skills that can take care of all the anticipated conflicts that can potentially arise, the learning curve of being a landlord can be quite steep.
- Hiring professional services is a good idea for Class C properties:
It is important to stay detached from your investment and to treat it as your business. Properties are categorized into three categories based on the area they are in and their overall condition. So Class C properties are generally cheaper because they are at least twenty years old and in a not-so-refined neighborhood.
A great deal can be struck on them, but they are prone to have more vacancies, frequent evictions, and high maintenance costs. Class A and B properties are situated in good neighborhoods and have amenities around them. Class C properties are best not handled personally if you are an emotional person at heart.
- Managing property can eat into your professional time:
Before you decide to manage your property on your own, make sure you realistically think about your professional workload and the distance of your property from where you live.
Managing a rental property will be tough if you are already multitasking at work with a full-time and part-time job, have a family to look after, or are busy with other commitments. In other words, being a landlord is quite a full-time job, and you better let the professionals handle it if you are pressed for time already.
- A well-chosen property manager can really be an asset:
Property Management Fee is not daylight robbery as most of us presume it to be. The fee structure can vary based on several factors:
- The nature of the property
- The condition the property is bought in
- The amount of maintenance or repairs that are needed
- The rate of vacancy
The management fees of any property that are higher than the market rate of 15 percent are only if the management company feels that the property is in a distressed condition. If the subject matter of the contract that is the property becomes better, the fees can be lowered accordingly.
- A property manager will screen tenants by running their background and credit:
As a property owner, it is understood that you may not have the extra time to delve into the tenant screening and checking on their background before handing your hard-earned property to them. Property managers are trained, and they have the tools to choose the best tenant for your property. They also respond quickly to complaints and repair requests from the tenants because they have a team of people to handle emergency repairs and maintenance.
- Financial and legal management is easier:
Money collection is a big hassle, especially in trying times like the pandemic. Property managers can collect the application fees, the cautionary deposits, rents, and the late penal fees if the tenant does not pay within the stipulated time. They are very efficient when it comes to paying for mortgages, taxes, and other utilities like gas and water. They can also handle the legal issues that arise on your property since they understand the legalities better.
Conclusion:
There is nothing in the rulebook that says you need to hire the first property manager that you interview. You must take your own time to determine whom you can entrust your property with and if they will be competent to handle your tenant’s repairs and maintenance requirements. Some owners usually like to be partially involved with the maintenance. They can also play an active role in managing their property and letting the managers do the tougher job of handling the tenants.