Why You Shouldn’t Manage Your Own Portland Rental Properties

Owning rental properties in Portland comes with a lot of opportunity, but it also comes with a lot of risk. Even a simple mistake can be costly and cause problems. Professional property management is an investment you make in your property and in your financial future. While managing your own rental home may seem like a good idea, it’s not the best way to earn as much as possible on your investment.

Landlords who manage their own properties often don’t have the resources that are necessary to properly screen tenants. You need an application that grants you permission to run background checks and pull credit reports. Then, you’ll need to do those things. You’ll have to search for past evictions and look for criminal histories. It’s also important to verify employment and income and talk to current and former landlords. These things take time and require research. You have to verify all the information on the application or risk placing a tenant who is unqualified or cannot afford your property. You have to do all of this while complying with fair housing laws.

A professional property manager has access to leases that are reviewed and approved by attorneys and real estate professionals. Many individual landlords will use a lease agreement that they find online, or they’ll buy a template from a store. However, these leases are not specific to Oregon, and that puts you at risk. You need a lease that covers all of the requirements that landlords in Oregon and in Portland must face. Using a lease that was written in California or in Florida will not help you if you need to evict a tenant, protect yourself against a security deposit claim, or hold a tenant accountable for breaking the lease. When you work with a property manager , you can be sure your lease is enforceable and protective of your best interests.

Keeping track of your rental income and the expenses associated with your rental property can be overwhelming. Your property manager will likely have special software that tracks all of these things, ensuring that you receive accurate and detailed accounting reports. This will help you at tax time, when you need to file taxes with the IRS. Talk to your tax advisor or your CPA because the property management fees that you pay are likely tax-deductible. This makes professional property management an even more attractive option for landlords and investors.

All rental properties require maintenance, no matter how new they are or how great their condition happens to be. Maintenance and repairs will take a big bite out of your rental income and your ROI, so you need a property manager who can handle these issues efficiently and affordably. It’s easy for self-managing landlords to spend too much on repairs or to put off maintenance issues for too long, causing them to become more complicated and expensive. A good property management company will either offer in-house maintenance services or will work with an excellent network of preferred vendors who are licensed and insured. Using an uninsured handyman is a huge risk; if that worker gets hurt while fixing your property and doesn’t have insurance, you may be liable for the damages.

There are so many good reasons to use professional property management for your investment properties. If you’d like to hear more about how we can help you, please contact us at Burgess Elliot Real Estate.