Dom just sent in a question asking what I think about using AI agents to manage rental properties. It’s a fair question, especially right now when AI is showing up in every corner of every industry. So let me give you my honest take — even though, full disclosure, I own a property management company in Philadelphia, so I’m going to do my best to take the bias out of this answer.
The Short Answer: Not Yet
My company uses AI on several fronts quite successfully. We’re very tech-forward — I’m part of mastermind groups with some of the most advanced property managers in the country, and honestly, across the world. Property management is part of a multi-billion dollar real estate industry, it’s lucrative, and the systems we use are about as advanced as you’ll find in any field.
And here’s the tell: none of us are using AI agents to actually manage properties.
If there was an AI solution out there that could effectively manage a rental — where you could just say, “Okay, Mr. AI, you’re now the property manager, go manage it” — property managers would be the first ones using it. Why would I keep paying my staff when I could supplement with an AI agent and just have a few people follow up? That mechanism doesn’t exist yet.
Where AI Actually Works in Property Management Today
We do use AI for specific tasks, and it works well:
- Answering phones
- Interacting with tenants on basic questions
- Triaging maintenance issues to see if they can be resolved without dispatching a contractor
- Handling routine communications
That’s real, that’s working, and we’re getting better at it every month. But “AI helps us run the company more efficiently” is a completely different thing than “AI replaces the company.”
The Marketing Will Outrun the Reality
I’m sure there’s marketing out there right now telling landlords, “Pay our service, fire your property manager, let AI do it.” I don’t think that’s possible. Not yet. My honest guess is we’re probably three years away from anything that even comes close to actually replacing a real property management company.
Why a Good Property Manager Pays for Itself
Here’s the part that sounds self-serving but I’m going to say it anyway, because it’s true: a property management company should be making you more money than it’s costing you. Your rental is an investment, and hiring a property manager is also an investment. You’re looking for a return on both.
Most owners come to us thinking they’re buying back their time and avoiding hassles. They don’t realize we’re also making them significantly more money than we cost. Essentially, they’re getting our services for free. Here’s how:
Vacancy Reduction
We are marketing machines. We’re filling units faster than a typical landlord can, and vacancy is the silent killer of rental returns. Every day a unit sits empty is money you don’t get back.
Contractor Pricing and Quality
You can go on Google and find a top-reviewed contractor. We do the same thing — it’s part of our vetting process. But here’s the difference: when you hire that contractor, it’s you and your one property, or you and your five properties. When we hire that contractor, we’re giving them six figures of referrals a year.
By the time we send a contractor into your property, they’ve been on dozens or hundreds of our jobs. We know exactly what quality they do, what their pricing should look like, and how accountable they’re going to be. They’re accountable because it’s not about your one property — it’s about staying in our rotation.
Buying Power
When we buy appliances, we’re getting them at a deep discount. The plant manager is basically my account rep. We’re not buying one fridge or one stove — we’re buying appliances in volume every single month. We get wholesale pricing and we get them hassle-free because the top guy at the company handles our orders directly.
A single landlord, no matter how smart, just doesn’t have access to that pricing or that level of service.
So Where Does That Leave AI?
I’m genuinely impressed with AI. We use it. We’ll keep using more of it. I do think there will come a day — probably about three years from now — when AI starts to seriously encroach on what a property manager does. But right now, Dom, it’s not there.
The relationships, the contractor network, the buying power, the local knowledge of Philadelphia rental law, the judgment calls on tenants and repairs — that’s not something you can hand off to an AI agent and walk away. At least not yet.
But hey, I’m just a humble Philadelphia property management company owner doing my best to answer your rental property investing questions. Happy investing.
