With the last few years of depressed real estate prices, homeowners have been more than eager to rent their properties than try to sell. While this is a good compromise, it can be difficult for homeowners to take on the responsibility of being landlords, particularly if they have relocated.

Besides the overall state of the economy, there are several other reasons why people might want to hold onto their property. The property may appreciate. There may be substantial tax benefits. They might be planning to move back to the area in just a few years and want to make sure they aren’t priced out of the market when they return.

The many good reasons for renting must be weighed against its negatives.

Who will oversee the property? How to go about collecting rents, vetting tenants, and dealing with tenancy issues. What will you do if the tenants do not pay? If you are forced to evict them? If they damage your property?

Questions like these are answered by finding a good property manager. It’s not just the obvious benefits like having someone else to handle late night phone calls from tenants with plumbing issues. It’s also the invisible issues, the ones you might not think about until it’s too late.

Property management companies are experienced in finding and vetting reliable, conscientious, headache-free tenants without running afoul of the fair housing act. Tenants often cause fewer problems for property managers because they are a neutral third party who are “just doing their jobs” by firmly demanding rent on the first of the month.

If you are renting your home and you’re not willing or able to oversee every aspect of the process personally, in perpetuity, it might be a good idea to call your friendly neighborhood property management company and have them do it for you. Just like renting versus selling, the benefits outweigh the costs.

Renting Your Home is Better With a Property Manager