Property Manager vs. Self-Management: Which Is Right for Your Rental Portfolio?

By PropsManager Team · Property Management · Aug 26, 2024

I've done both. I've been the landlord who answers the 2 a.m. toilet overflow call, drives across town in pajamas, and spends Saturday mornings showing units to no-shows. And I've been the landlord who writes a management company a check every month and barely thinks about my properties until the direct deposit hits.

Neither approach is universally "better." But one of them is almost certainly better for you, right now, given the size of your portfolio, where you live, and how you value your time. Let's break it down honestly—numbers, trade-offs, and all the stuff nobody mentions until you're knee-deep in a problem.

What Does a Property Manager Actually Do?

Before we compare, let's get specific about what you're paying for when you hire a professional property management company. It's more than just "handling headaches."

Day-to-Day Operations

A property manager takes on the full operational load of your rental:

• Tenant screening — running credit checks, verifying employment, calling previous landlords, and making approval decisions that comply with Fair Housing laws
• Rent collection — setting up payment systems, sending reminders, processing late fees, and initiating collections when someone falls behind
• Maintenance coordination — fielding repair requests, dispatching vendors from their network, and overseeing the work
• Lease enforcement — sending notices, handling lease violations, and managing the eviction process when it comes to that
• Financial reporting — providing monthly owner statements, year-end tax documents, and expense tracking
• Move-in and move-out inspections — documenting property condition, handling security deposit disposition, and managing turnover

What You're Really Buying

Here's what most new landlords don't realize: you're not just buying someone's labor. You're buying their systems, their vendor relationships, their legal knowledge, and their emotional distance from the property.

That last one matters more than you'd think. I once let a tenant slide on rent for three months because she told me her kid was sick. Turned out she'd been telling every landlord the same story for years. A property manager would've started the pay-or-quit notice on day five—not because they're heartless, but because they've seen the pattern a hundred times.

The True Cost of Hiring a Property Manager

Let's talk money, because this is where most landlords start (and should start).

Typical Fee Structure

On a $1,500/month rental, you're looking at roughly $120–$180/month for management, plus a $750–$1,500 leasing fee every time you turn over a tenant. Over a year with one turnover, that's $2,190–$3,660. That's real money.

Hidden Costs to Watch For

Some management companies nickel-and-dime you in ways you won't notice until you read the statement:

• Charging for routine inspections
• Marking up maintenance invoices without disclosure
• Keeping late fees or application fees that should flow to you
• Billing for "after-hours emergency coordination" separately
• Tacking on advertising costs for vacancy listings

Read the management agreement line by line. I've seen contracts that gave the management company the right to keep the first month's rent on every new lease. On a $2,000/month unit, that's a $2,000 fee you might not have noticed buried in paragraph 14.

The True Cost of Self-Management

Self-management is "free" the way mowing your own lawn is free—only if your time has no value.

Time Investment

A 2022 survey by the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) found that managing a single rental property takes an average of 4–8 hours per month during stable occupancy. During turnover? That jumps to 40+ hours between cleaning coordination, repairs, marketing, showings, screening, and lease execution.

Here's a rough breakdown of what you'll spend time on:

• Rent collection and bookkeeping: 1–2 hours/month
• Maintenance requests: 2–4 hours/month (more for older properties)
• Tenant communication: 1–2 hours/month
• Showings and marketing (during vacancy): 10–20 hours total
• Turnover and make-ready: 15–30 hours total
• Legal compliance and paperwork: 1–2 hours/month

If you value your time at $50/hour, that's $200–$400/month during stable occupancy. Suddenly the 10% management fee on a $1,800 rental ($180/month) doesn't look so expensive.

The Mistakes Tax

Self-managing landlords pay an invisible "mistakes tax." You don't know what you don't know, and property management has a surprisingly deep body of law and best practice.

Common expensive mistakes self-managers make:

• Bad tenant screening: One bad tenant can cost $5,000–$15,000 between lost rent, damage, and eviction costs. A property manager has screened thousands of applicants and knows the red flags.
• Fair Housing violations: An offhand comment during a showing can trigger a discrimination complaint. Settlements average $10,000–$50,000.
• Improper security deposit handling: Many states require deposits in separate accounts with interest. Get it wrong, and you might owe the tenant triple damages.
• Botched evictions: File the wrong form, miss a deadline, or serve notice incorrectly, and you're back to square one—with another month of unpaid rent in the rearview mirror.

I know a landlord who tried to handle an eviction himself in California. He served a 3-day notice that didn't comply with the new state requirements. The judge tossed the case. By the time he refiled correctly, four months had passed. That DIY eviction "saved" him the $300 management fee but cost him $7,200 in lost rent.

Self-Management vs. Property Manager: Side-by-Side Comparison

When Self-Management Makes Sense

Self-management isn't just for beginners trying to save a buck. It's genuinely the better choice in several situations:

You Own 1–4 Units Nearby

If your properties are within a 20-minute drive and you've got fewer than five units, the economics strongly favor self-management—especially when you use software to handle the tedious parts. Tools like PropsManager can automate rent collection, maintenance tracking, lease management, and financial reporting, which eliminates most of the administrative burden.

You Have a Flexible Schedule

Teachers, remote workers, freelancers, and retirees often have the schedule flexibility that self-management demands. If a Tuesday afternoon showing or a Wednesday morning plumber visit doesn't wreck your day, managing yourself works fine.

You're Building Knowledge

There's an argument that every landlord should self-manage their first property for at least a year. You'll learn things about tenant behavior, maintenance costs, and local regulations that make you a better investor—even if you eventually hire a manager.

Your Margins Are Tight

On a property cash-flowing $200/month, an 8% management fee on $1,400 rent ($112/month) leaves you with $88. That might not make the investment worthwhile. Self-managing preserves that cash flow while you build equity.

When You Should Hire a Property Manager

You Live Far From Your Properties

Long-distance landlording is a special kind of misery. You can't drive by to check on things. You can't meet a contractor at the property. You're relying on photos and phone calls. If your rental is more than an hour away, a local manager pays for itself in avoided headaches and faster problem resolution.

You Own 10+ Units

Past a certain threshold, self-management becomes a full-time job whether you want it to be or not. Ten units means ten sets of maintenance issues, ten lease renewals, ten tenant relationships. Most landlords hit the wall somewhere between 8 and 15 units. If you're scaling your portfolio, a manager frees you to focus on acquisitions.

You Hate Confrontation

Some people aren't wired for the difficult conversations that landlording requires. Telling a single mom she's being evicted. Enforcing a no-pets policy when someone's already moved in with two dogs. Sending a rent increase notice you know will upset a good tenant. If these scenarios give you anxiety, outsource them. Your mental health is worth the 10%.

Your Day Job Is Demanding

If you're a surgeon, a trial attorney, or anyone else who simply cannot step away during the workday, self-management creates impossible conflicts. The 2 p.m. "my ceiling is leaking" emergency doesn't care about your court schedule.

The Hybrid Approach: Software + Self-Management

Here's the option nobody talked about ten years ago that's now the smartest play for a lot of landlords: self-manage with professional-grade software doing the heavy lifting.

Modern property management platforms like PropsManager give individual landlords access to the same tools the management companies use:

• Online rent collection with automatic reminders and late fee calculation
• Maintenance request portals where tenants submit issues with photos, and you can dispatch vendors with a tap
• Tenant screening integrated directly into the application process
• Lease generation and e-signatures so you're not Googling "free lease template" at midnight
• Financial dashboards that track income, expenses, and generate tax-ready reports
• Document storage for leases, inspection reports, and communication logs

This hybrid approach gets you 80% of the benefit of a property manager at a fraction of the cost. Check out PropsManager's pricing to see how it compares to that 8–12% management fee.

The landlords I know who are most successful at self-management aren't doing it with spreadsheets and shoeboxes anymore. They've got systems. And the right software is the system.

What to Automate First

If you're transitioning to this approach, start with these three:

1. Rent collection — Chasing checks is the single biggest time sink for self-managing landlords. Set up online payments and never think about it again. Late fees apply automatically.
2. Maintenance tracking — A proper system creates an auditable trail, which protects you legally and helps you budget for capital expenditures based on actual repair history.
3. Expense tracking — Come tax time, you'll thank yourself. Every landlord should track mileage, materials, contractor payments, and other deductions throughout the year—not scramble in April. Read more about this in our guide on tracking software for expenses.

How to Evaluate a Property Management Company

If you decide to hire, don't just pick the first company on Google. Here's a checklist:

• Licensed and insured in your state
• At least 3 years managing properties similar to yours
• Clear, written fee schedule with no hidden charges
• Provides monthly financial statements and year-end reporting
• Has an online owner portal for real-time visibility
• Positive reviews on Google, Yelp, and BiggerPockets
• Willing to provide references from current clients
• Uses professional-grade property management software
• Has a documented tenant screening process
• Clearly explains their eviction process and timeline
• Can articulate their maintenance vendor vetting process
• Doesn't require you to sign over your property title or deed (yes, scams exist)

Ask this question in the interview: "What's the average number of days your properties sit vacant during turnover?" A good manager should be under 21 days. If they can't answer, or if the number is north of 30, keep looking.

Transitioning Between Approaches

Moving from Self-Management to a Property Manager

When you make the switch:

1. Get your records in order — leases, deposit documentation, maintenance history, tenant contact information
2. Inform tenants in writing that management is changing, with the new company's contact info
3. Transfer security deposits properly (your state has specific rules about this)
4. Provide the management company with keys, access codes, and vendor contacts
5. Review the first two monthly statements carefully to catch any errors in the transition

Moving from a Property Manager to Self-Management

Going the other direction:

1. Review your management agreement's termination clause — many require 30–60 days' notice
2. Set up your own systems before the transition (rent collection, maintenance tracking, etc.)
3. Introduce yourself to tenants and provide your contact information
4. Collect all property documentation, keys, and access codes
5. Verify security deposit transfers and accounting
6. Establish your own vendor relationships for common repairs

For more on setting up solid processes, check out our guide on creating a preventative maintenance schedule.

The Bottom Line

There's no shame in either approach. The landlord managing four duplexes from a spreadsheet and the investor writing a $1,200/month check to a management company are both making rational decisions for their situations.

What matters is being honest with yourself about three things:

1. Your time — What's an hour of your life actually worth? Not theoretically. Actually. If you're earning $75/hour at your day job, spending 8 hours a month on property management costs you $600 in opportunity cost—way more than the management fee.

2. Your skill set — Do you actually know landlord-tenant law in your state? Can you read a contractor's bid and know if it's fair? Are you comfortable serving legal notices? If not, you'll pay the mistakes tax until you learn.

3. Your temperament — Some people genuinely enjoy the hands-on work. They like fixing things, talking to tenants, and controlling every detail. Others find it soul-crushing. Both responses are valid.

The smartest move for most landlords with small-to-mid portfolios? Self-manage with great software. Tools like PropsManager close the gap between DIY and professional management by automating the repetitive work and keeping you organized. You stay in control, keep more of your rental income, and still sleep through the night because your systems are handling the routine stuff.

Ready to see how much easier self-management can be? Request a demo and see PropsManager in action.

Explore More PropsManager Resources

Looking for the right property management software? Check out our in-depth guides:

• Compare Property Management Software — See how PropsManager stacks up against Buildium, AppFolio, Rent Manager, and Propertyware.
• Software for Small Landlords — Built for landlords managing 1–50 units without the enterprise price tag.
• AI-Powered Property Management — Discover how automation can save you 5–10 hours per week.
• Solutions for Property Managers — Scale from 50 to 500+ units without scaling your costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a property manager typically charge?

Most property managers charge 8–12% of monthly collected rent for ongoing management, plus a leasing or placement fee of 50–100% of one month's rent each time they fill a vacancy. Additional fees for lease renewals ($150–$300), eviction management ($200–$500+), and maintenance coordination markups (10–20%) are common. On a $1,500/month rental, expect to pay $2,000–$4,000+ per year when you factor in all fees.

Can I self-manage a rental property from out of state?

You can, but it's significantly harder. You'll need reliable local contractors, a strong software platform for remote monitoring, and a willingness to fly in for major issues. Many out-of-state landlords start by self-managing remotely and eventually switch to a local property manager after the first emergency they can't handle from a distance. If you do go this route, having a trusted local contact—a friend, a handyman, or a real estate agent—as your "boots on the ground" is almost essential.

At what point should I switch from self-management to hiring a property manager?

The common tipping point is around 8–12 units, though it varies. Other triggers include: you're spending more than 20 hours/month on management tasks, your vacancy periods are stretching past 30 days, you've made a costly legal mistake, or management duties are interfering with your primary income source. Run the numbers—if the management fee is less than the value of the time you're spending, it's time to hire.

Is property management software a good alternative to hiring a manager?

For landlords with fewer than 10–15 units, absolutely. Platforms like PropsManager automate rent collection, maintenance tracking, tenant screening, and financial reporting—which are the exact tasks that consume most of a self-managing landlord's time. You'll still handle decision-making and occasional hands-on situations, but the software eliminates the administrative burden that makes self-management feel overwhelming. It's the best of both worlds: professional-grade tools at a fraction of the cost of a management company.

What's the biggest risk of self-managing rental property?

Legal liability. Fair Housing violations, improper eviction procedures, security deposit mishandling, and habitability issues can all result in lawsuits, fines, or penalties that dwarf any management fee you would've paid. The second biggest risk is tenant quality—without professional screening experience, self-managing landlords are more likely to approve problematic tenants who end up costing thousands in damage and lost rent. Investing in proper tenant screening tools and landlord education significantly reduces both risks.