At some point or another while you are a landlord, you will find yourself wondering whether or not you should handle tenant management yourself or outsource the heavy lifting to a company that does it professionally. In this blog we will explore both options in detail to give you an understanding of what your property oversight may look like.

 What is Full-Service Tenant Management?

A company offering full-service Tenant management handles every aspect of the rental process for their clients’ properties. While the scope of services offered by a company under tenant management can differ, a comprehensive tenant management service should entail: 

1. Inventory creation and Renovations : This is the first step of the process. The tenant management service provider would take inventory of the property and recommend repairs and renovations that make the property competitive on the rental market. Service providers can also execute repairs and renovations upon receiving approval from the owners. 

2. Tenant screening and acquisition : Property and Rental management companies then market the property. All prospective tenants undergo basic screening either by the service provider or a third-party company contracted by the service provider to try and ensure that lease agreements are only signed with responsible tenants. 

3. Lease creation and legal compliance : Professional property and tenant management companies draw up the lease between owners and tenants. Their experience in this area allows them to understand the ways in which a document can be drafted to the advantage of the owner. 

4. Property inspection and rent collection : Service providers then follow up with tenants and collect rent when it is due. They also conduct regular property inspections to ensure that the property is being maintained to the right standard. These are their most important tasks and they significantly reduce the administrative burden of the owner. 

5. Conflict Resolution : Property management companies can act as intermediaries in case of disputes between owners and tenants. In certain circumstances. 

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What of DIY Tenant Management?

DIY tenant management involves carrying out all of the same activities and due diligences as professional Tenant management services. The only difference is that the burden of property oversight belongs entirely to the property owner. There are pros and cons to both DIY tenant management and professional tenant management.  

Pros of Professional Tenant Management: 

1. Reduced time and energy commitments: Professional property managers handle every aspect of the tenant management process saving you both time and energy while also enabling you to have a peace of mind where your property and its rent is concerned. 
2. Expertise and knowledge: Professional property managers tend to be intimate with the nuances of market trends, tenant rights, and landlord responsibilities. Their wealth of experience often means that they can handle the whole process with greater levels of ease assuring higher quality than relatively inexperienced homeowners. 
3. Minimised legal risk: Professional tenant and property management companies ensure that all legal requirements are met and have standard operating procedures that minimise exposure to legal risk. 

Cons of Professional Tenant Management:

1. Management fees: Professional property and rent management service providers charge fees based on the rental income of the property. At times, these charges may seem steep.

Pros of DIY Tenant Management:

1. Fees: Without the management fees, homeowners can save money by managing their properties on their own.
2. Control: Homeowners maintain complete control of their properties from tenant selection to property maintenance. The assurance that homeowners can have in their own work can be useful to achieving a piece of mind. 
3. Tenants: Some homeowners prefer direct communication with their tenants so that they can understand their needs and circumstances better, but most property and tenant management companies do not operate this way. 

Cons of DIY Tenant Management:

1. Time consuming: Managing a property is a time consuming activity and it can be difficult to do this without cutting corners and compromising on quality of outcomes. 
2. Limited Expertise: Dealing with legal matters, tenant disputes, and maintenance can benefit from experience. While it is not strictly necessary, experienced professionals will always be able to navigate these waters with more ease and less risk. 
3. Legal Risk: Without a thorough understanding of landlord-tenant law, you may expose yourself to potential legal issues. 

Factors to consider when choosing between DIY and Professional Rental Service Management:

1. Distance from property: If the house you are seeking rental income from is just around the corner, it is relatively easy to drop by and check in on it its condition. Repairs, renovations, maintenance, and property inspections once tenants have been placed can be handled with ease. However, the further away your property is from you, the more difficult it will become. At a point it could be entirely unfeasible. 
2. Size and scope of portfolio: The marketing, renovations, maintenance, inspection, and tenants interactions may be manageable for a property, but this gets much harder with each extra property in the portfolio. Things can slip between the cracks and corners are cut in a brave attempt to manage everything. 
3. Level of experience: Your experience with property oversight is a very important factor to consider in deciding whether work should be outsourced to professionals or done by yourself. If you have prior experience and feel confident that you can navigate through the waters of renting out property, then you could save money and potentially even achieve higher levels of quality and satisfaction than a professional company working on your behalf can. On the other hand, if you are new to renting out property or unfamiliar with local property laws, hiring a professional can provide peace of mind and save you from a painful learning curve.
4. Level of involvement desired and time available: Do you want to be highly involved with your property and take care of everything yourself, or would you rather not be thinking about it, but receiving revenue all the same? If the latter describes you, the outsourcing to a property or rental manager makes sense. DIY Tenant management is for those who want to be hands-on with their property and have the time and energy to devote.

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Conclusion :

Both full-service tenant management and self-management offer distinct advantages, depending on the size of the property portfolio, your level of experience, and the desired level of involvement in the Rental management. For those with limited experience, time constraints, and/or larger portfolios, hiring a professional property management company is often the better choice. On the other hand, if you're looking to save on management fees and have the time, energy, and expertise to handle the various aspects of property oversight, self-management can be a rewarding option.