Top 5 Advantages of Hiring a Property Management Company

Suppose you have decided to invest in a rental property – congratulations!  You are on the path to financial freedom, and your new income property will certainly help you meet your goals.  After all, real estate in the Greater Toronto Area continues on an upward trend year after year.  Rental units are in high demand; the real estate market is flourishing, and interest rates remain attractively low. Once you have successfully acquired an income property and received your keys, the question becomes – what next?  After all, managing rental property in Toronto is exciting and potentially lucrative unless it becomes a huge, costly headache. As a friend’s recent experience with a nightmare of a bad tenant reminded me, managing your own rental unit is not always sunshine and roses.  It can be downright difficult even when your tenant isn’t a professional con artist, and it takes time to learn the ins and outs of the RTA (residential tenancies act) and the rules and requirements for being a successful landlord. Hiring a property management service can certainly alleviate the stress associated with managing your own income property.  Here are some of the top reasons why you should consider using a property management service for your rental property. reasons to hire a property management company 5 Key Advantages of Using a Property Management Service:

  1. If you choose the right property management service in Toronto, well… they are the pros!  Professional property managers understand the Residential Tenancies Act.  They know a landlord’s rights and responsibilities inside and out, and they have the experience, systems, processes, and resources to make managing your property simple.  They understand the local rental market and can give you objective advice and support to help you price your unit appropriately to attract the right tenant and maintain the property over time.
  2. Property managers take on the day-to-day responsibilities to free up your time.  This is a huge advantage for investors who work full time or don’t live nearby their unit.  You won’t need to worry about taking time off to deal with repairs or maintenance issues, and you won’t need to be on hand for showings.  Freeing up your time to focus your priorities, whether they are career related, family-related… It will give you the ability to produce more at what you are passionate about while allowing you endless growth potential from a real estate management perspective.  Your portfolio size is no longer limited to your availability to rent and manage, and your investment strategy can grow beyond your personal time limitations.
  3. A good property management service is essential for foreign investors who wish to rent and manage their real estate assets.  In addition to taking care of the day-to-day operations of your unit, your Toronto property management service is your eyes and ears – and your voice – here on the ground.  They can give you a good understanding of the local rules and customs and detailed knowledge about the Toronto property and rental market.  They also assist in remitting applicable Non-resident tax on rental income as required by the relevant Taxing Authorities and as often as may be required by law.
  4. Property managers market your unit, screen prospective tenants, and collect rent and deposits on your behalf.  Property owners tend to get emotionally engaged with their property which hinders their ability to make sound business decisions.  This is where a property management company that can buffer landlords from the day-to-day realities of managing and renting investment properties.   Property management companies are well equipped with policies and procedures to deal with late payments, damage to the unit, and problem tenants.  They have experience dealing with the landlord-tenant board and likely have greater legal recourse should the worst-case scenario occur.  More importantly, property managers provide you with peace of mind knowing that your investments are being managed by professionals.  Property rental and management is a nuanced field, and vetting tenants is an art as well as a science.  Keep this in mind, as it is probably one of the most important aspects of real estate investing; choosing the right tenant is critical to your investment success.
  5. Property management services will arrange for all necessary maintenance and repairs.  The nature of work varies from cleaning a property between tenant changes to major renovation projects and everything in between – and you don’t need to arrange or oversee any of it. Due to the volume of work and affiliations, a property management company can negotiate cheaper rates for trades’ people and muscle renovation estimates down to get you a great price as well as completed in a timely fashion. An uninhabitable property that is vacant due to maintenance and repairs is a costly proposition for landlords.

New investors, in the early stages of building their real estate portfolio, sometimes mention cost as the only potential drawback to using a property management service in Toronto.  While services and fees vary significantly from company to company, the right property management services are worth their weight in gold.  It is also vital to do your homework.  Read references and reviews and make sure you are working with reputable and experienced property managers who will take care of your investment as if it was their own.  At Buttonwood Property Management Inc. our value proposition combines comprehensive end-to-end services and low fees.  As investors, this will make a huge difference to net returns on investment over time.  If you are considering a property management company in the GTA, check out Buttonwood Property Management Inc. for a free no, obligations quote.

Sabine Ghali

Sabine Ghali

Helping real estate investors build wealth over time

Sabine Ghali, Managing Director at Buttonwood Property Management, Award Winning Real Estate Broker and an Entrepreneur at heart. Sabine is on a mission to help investors create real estate wealth over time in the Greater Toronto Area. Sabine is published in a number of media outlets, including Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, Entrepreneur, Forbes, and Gulf News, among many others.