Managing a rental property in Seattle can be both rewarding and demanding. Whether you’re a first-time landlord or a seasoned investor, understanding what a property manager does—and the pros and cons of hiring one—can help you decide if professional management is the right choice for your investment.
Key Takeaways
- Property managers handle day-to-day operations like tenant management, maintenance, and rent collection.
- Hiring a Seattle property management company saves time, helps maximize long-term returns, reduce tenant turnover, and ensure legal compliance.
- It’s important to consider management fees, reduced owner control, and the challenge of finding the right company when making your decision.
What Does a Property Manager in Seattle Do?
A property manager is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of rental properties on behalf of the property owner. Their main goal is to ensure that the investment property is maintained, generates income, and increases its value over time.
Their duties can vary depending on a variety of factors like the property management company, property type, location, and property size. But there are several tasks that you can expect to be included by a typical property manager, including:
- Tenant management: Finding and screening tenants, managing lease agreements, collecting rent, managing tenant complaints and maintenance requests, handling move-ins, move-outs, and evictions.
- Property maintenance: Scheduling repairs and routine maintenance, hiring and supervising contractors, and ensuring your complying with safety and health regulations.
- Financial management: Setting rental rates based on market research and industry expertise, prepping financial reports, managing budget and operating expenses, and paying all property-related bills.
- Legal compliance: Ensuring the property is compliant with all local, state, and federal landlord-tenant laws and regulations, keeping proper documentation and records, and managing legal processes, like evictions, lawfully.
- Marketing and vacancy management: Marketing and advertising the property, hosting property tours, and reducing vacancy rates through timely leasing.
5 Pros of Hiring a Property Management Company in Seattle
Whether you’re just starting in the industry or your investment portfolio has grown over the years, there are a lot of compelling reasons to hire a professional management company to oversee your rental property. Managing a rental property is a time-intensive endeavor, and many property owners recognize the benefits of working with a property management company to look after day-to-day operations.
Let’s explore five pros of working with a property management company in the Seattle area.
1. Save time and energy
Investing in rental properties can be very lucrative—but it is also a lengthy process that requires you to be on call 24/7. Landlords are responsible for everything from finding tenants, collecting rent, managing maintenance requests, communicating with tenants, and more. And because you’re required to be on call all day, every day, there’s nothing stopping you from getting a call in the middle of your child’s school play or an important work meeting.
Hiring a local property management company means you don’t have to spend your time handling the responsibilities of owning rental properties or stressing over whether or not you’ll get a middle of the night phone call. Instead, you can live your life without the worry of being interrupted.
When you manage your own rental property, you need to be close enough that you can respond to emergencies in a timely manner. Hiring a property manager means you can also move farther away from your rental property, if you so choose.
2. Industry expertise
Property management companies have spent years managing rental units and homes. In Washington State, property managers are required to hold a real estate broker’s license. This means they’ll have a deep understanding of how to price homes, conduct market research, and effectively market your property. They should be well-acquainted with the local rental market and have knowledge that might otherwise be hard to come by.
Reputable property management companies will also have handled everything from tenant disputes and evictions to emergency repairs and lease breaks. If you’ve never managed a property before, these are the kinds of things that can be overwhelming and frustrating. But, for a property management company, these issues are par for the course, and they know how to best deal with them.
As a rental property owner, you need to understand the local, state, and federal landlord-tenant laws. These laws can be very complicated and change often, so having a full understanding of them as a landlord can be difficult. A property management company will have a deep knowledge of these laws and should make it a part of their process to stay up-to-date on new and updated laws.
3. Access to tried-and-tested vendors
One thing that every property manager—or DIY landlord—needs is a list of reliable vendors. When you run a rental property, you need to have a list of electricians, plumbers, handymen, painters, and cleaning professionals that you trust to do good work.
A property management company will have a well-established network of professional trades people who they can call—even with middle-of-the-night emergencies. Some companies even work exclusively with vendors to ensure they always have access to their services. Having access to the right vendor connections is a huge benefit of working with a professional property manager.
4. Reduce tenant turnover
Great property managers are responsive and available—they’re able to address tenant questions and concerns when needed. This gives tenants the best possible experience and keeps them happy. Property owners, of course, want their tenants to have a good experience living in their property. But it goes beyond that—fostering a positive relationship with your tenants can reduce tenant turnover and lower your vacancy rate.
Property owners want to avoid long vacancy periods as much as possible. When your property is not rented, it’s not making you money. Property managers not only do everything they can to retain tenants, they’re also trained to find the best possible tenants quickly and efficiently to reduce vacancy periods.
5. Save money in the long run
Property management companies charge anywhere from 8% to 12% of the monthly rent, but still, they can save you money over time. Often, property owners hesitate to commit because of the upfront cost, but this is short-sighted. A good property manager helps protect your investment by proactively maintaining your property—preventing expensive problems like water damage, which can easily cost more than their fee. They also support steady cash flow by ensuring timely rent collection and quickly filling vacancies.
3 Cons of Hiring a Seattle Property Management Company
Hiring a property management company in Seattle has its advantages, but it might not be the right fit for every property owner. Before making a decision, it’s important to consider a few potential drawbacks.
Let’s explore three cons of working with a property management company in the Seattle area.
1. The cost of management fees
One of the biggest cons property owners see when considering a property management company is the associated costs. Property management is a paid service, and often the initial investment can be a deterrent for those who think they can do it all themselves.
When considering a property management company, be sure to understand all of the associated fees.There is typically a month fee (8%-12%), some companies charge other fees including a leasing fee, renewals fee, extra maintenance fee, etc. When you have a clear understanding of all the fees, you’ll be able to find the best company that fits within your budget.
2. Less control
If you’re an owner who is looking to be involved in every decision when it comes to your property, hiring a property manager might not be the right choice. Hiring a property management company works best when property owners are comfortable with a more hands-off approach.
Property managers won’t typically reach out for minor tenant issues, regular maintenance or smaller issues, or other trivial issues that may arise. They know how to handle these issues and have their own methods to manage them effectively.
A professional property management company understands the value of your property, and will do everything to ensure it’s taken care of. But, having to involve you in every choice they make only slows down their processes and makes their job more difficult. If you need to be involved in all aspects of your property, self-management may be a better option for you.
3. Finding the right property management company
As with any decision, it’s important to do your research when looking for a reputable property management company. Just like you wouldn’t rent to a tenant without screening them, you shouldn’t hire a property manager without vetting them. If you plan to hire a property manager, check references, read reviews, and ask them any questions you may have.
While the process can be time-consuming and overwhelming, working with a trusted company like SJA Property Management takes the guesswork out of it. Backed by strong reviews, certifications, and a reputation for professionalism, we make it easy for Seattle landlords to feel confident in their choice.
At SJA Property Management, we have over 15 years of industry experience that we use to help you manage your rental property in Seattle, Bellevue, and surrounding areas. Give us a call today to see how we can give you a smooth and easy rental property management solution.
Hiring a Property Management Company FAQs
Is it a good idea to use a property management company?
Using a property management company to manage your rental property can save time, reduce stress, and help maximize rental income through professional oversight.
What is the biggest challenge in property management?
The biggest challenge in property management is handling tenant issues and vacancies while maintaining consistent cash flow.
What is the biggest responsibility for property management?
The biggest responsibility for property management is protecting the property’s value by ensuring proper maintenance, tenant management, and legal compliance.
What are the benefits of using a property management company?
The benefits of using a property management company include reduced vacancy rates, reliable rent collection, expert maintenance coordination, and legal compliance.
