When you buy a rental property – or, even when you’re preparing to buy a rental property – you’ll need to decide whether you’re going to get some help from a professional San Diego property management company or if you’d prefer to manage the home on your own.

If you have a lot of free time and you understand the complex rental laws in California, you’ll probably do fine self-managing.

But, if you have a full-time career or you’re hoping to pursue additional investments or you are already juggling family and other responsibilities, you might want to hire a professional manager. If you’re not aware of what the new rent control, just cause eviction rules, and fair housing ordinances mean for you and your rental property, you’ll definitely need some professional help.

Professional Property Management in San Diego: Time and Money

You need to think about what your time is worth before you decide to manage your own investment. When your property is vacant, you’re working around the clock to market the home, respond to prospective tenants, and show the property. You’ll have to be responsive with applications and screenings, and then you’ll need to manage the leasing process and the move-in inspection and the collection of the tenant’s security deposit. It takes a lot of time.

Even after a tenant is in place, you’ll need to be available 24 hours a day in case something goes wrong at the property. You’ll need to spend some time researching and screening vendors so you have someone to call when there’s a problem with plumbing, heat, your roof, or an appliance. The time and the resources you need to invest as a self-manager are significant.

Professional property managers already have a proven system in place. We know how to efficiently price, prepare, market, and lease a home. We understand what to look for when we’re screening tenants, and we’ve almost completed automated the rent collection and maintenance processes. We save you time and we save you money on things like vacancy, incorrect rental values, and terrible tenants. You’ll spend less on deferred maintenance and property damage left behind by irresponsible renters.

Professional Property Management in San Diego: Legal Challenges

Statewide rent control is now in place throughout California. This covers more properties and landlords than local ordinances do, and there are also new laws about what you must do when you’re evicting a tenant and how you screen income for prospective residents. You can no longer deny an applicant just because he or she has a Section 8 housing voucher, for example.

These laws are changing all the time, and there are plenty of attorneys and tenants who are waiting for you to make a mistake. Professional San Diego property managers are on top of all the legal changes and challenges. We understand fair housing, rent control, just cause evictions, and the difference between a pet and a service animal. We know how to return a security deposit without being dragged into court, and we can protect you and your property against lawsuits, claims, and disputes.

It’s almost always better to work with a professional property management company in San Diego than to manage your own home. We’d be happy to tell you more. Please contact us at Walters Home Management.