Philadelphia Rental Properties Will Never Be Passive Income

If you own a rental property in Philadelphia, you already know that our market place requires landlords to maintain their properties to keep competitive with the other rental properties on the market. And unless you have one a good property management company, you know this requires a commitment of both time and money. (Click Best Philadelphia Property Management Company Reviews to see our reviews).

However, every book, article and webcast you’ve seen on landlord real estate investing might have left you stuck in the rental mud with the message that rental investing is “passive income”. Every material produced on real estate investing has that message…that its passive income. You just need to sit there and collect your rents.

As a Philadelphia Property Manager its my job to manage other people’s rental properties and to make sure they are producing as much investment profit for the owners as I can manage. And there is one thing that is clear:

Owning a Rental Property is Not a Passive Income. Its not passive income and owning a rental property absolutely requires a property owner’s involvement. Obviously if you employ a property manager this involvement is minimal and I think that’s the common assumption that the top real estate gurus authors make – that you will have a professional property manager take over the hassle and also to maximize your returns on properties you buy.

But let’s say you have a property manager and a good one (you know, like me)…does this mean you merely sit there and think of ways to to spend your rental income?

I’m sorry; but no.
You will always need to participate regarding your rental properties. I know from my own property management business  that the best we can do is make your rental property into a semi-passive income.

If you are managing your own rental property, you will still need to keep it in top performing, shape if you expect to draw the best tenants and avoid costly repairs. Without a PM you will never be off the hook from routine maintenance and with a PM you will still always need to take an owner role and review regularly the reports your manager sends you.

Attempting to self-manage your rental can be done successfully if you have the time and don’t have to concentrate your effort elsewhere. When successfully managing a rental by setting a property manager to the task, I recommend setting aside a regular time each month to review, and to consider your investment.

Nothing stays in the exact same spot. It either improves or it gets worse. Has your property improved as an investment this month or has it done worse? If the latter then it’s time you increase your time investment!

Author:

Joe White

Joe White is a Philadelphia Property Manager and Real Estate Broker. He is the owner of Grow Property Management and has been involved in the management, sales and purchases of Philadelphia area rental investment properties since 2008. He is an author and works as a real estate investment consultant and construction manager.

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