Owning, investing in and profiting from a rental property is some of the most rewarding work in the world.

Take it from one of the leading property management firms in Contra Costa County and Alameda County, California. We love what we do and we invest and re-invest continually into the East Bay’s always exciting and dynamic housing market.

That’s why it’s still a surprise to us that folks want to invest in real estate while still believing it’s easy, turn-key and low-risk. It’s none of the above and you can still have your initial capital evaporate in two turns of the taxman’s briefcase key. So knowing what you’re doing and what you’re getting into is important. It’s even a full time job. See #5 below.

1. Being an absentee landlord or a slumlord is “Understandable”

It’s not. A slumlord is losing money and often losing his soul too. It’s a bad investment decision and the costs go far beyond the money. We specialize in getting landlords a little more distance from their properties, but we also specialize in improving and even maximizing the value of those same properties and the value of the greater community and neighborhood. Tenants are paying more and at the end of the day, the property is worth more too.

2. Being a Landlord is Just like Owning Two of Your Own Houses

This is another big myth. It might seem easy when you’re renting to someone in your family. But as time goes on and you want to rent for a bit more to someone who’s not a relative you’re going to have to face the facts. Tenants have rights, and they’re paying you in a heavily regulated and legally complicated marketplace. You better know the ropes and you can’t really grow your investment if you’re doing it part time or you’re just not that interested. We really do represent some property owners who own only one investment property. They work with us because the job is done better when it’s done right.

3. Properties Always Increase In Value  

This is a variation on “absenteeism,” the turn-key idea that you can sign the lease, set it and forget it. Tenants know when a landlord deserves to lose money, and in a real worst-case scenario, they’ll see that you do. Getting your investment to grow means keeping it up, putting in the hours and the money to make sure it’s still an attractive value. Contrary to lots of absentee landlords, that can mean a lot of work – and even a full time job. Property owners with even two properties find that the work quickly turns into too much work, and tenant turn-overs will quickly stretch into no-income spells that are simply costing you more.

4. Owning One Rental Unit Prepares You to Manage Another

Rental units have this way of arithmetically increasing expenses as the number of units adds up. You could manage one, but managing two now takes four times as much work. Having one unit empty seems to always coincide with having a couple of units empty – and thus no income. Doing all the turn-over chores takes four times longer when you’re doing both units at the same time and renting neither one of them.  One of the clearest reasons people come to a property management company is in that, suddenly, owning two rental units means managing both of them better. And that takes some doing.

5. Property Managers Just Collect the Rent

Or they just screen the tenants. Or they just inspect the boiler. This is always followed by something about how they also take a cut of the profits. All of the above is true, but they also work full time, mostly because lots of property owners don’t want to work full time managing their investments. Property managers also put a full time professional face on your building or your unit or on all of your units. That keeps your investment in good standing, and your property worth what it’s supposed to be worth.

Many of our best investment clients see it full well, because they’ve grown too big to manage all of their rental units. Some of them did it the hard way – trying to manage too many units for far too long. But in fact, that’s still a goal we work to see that many of our best investor clients will reach. There may be a final myth that being a landlord is simply too much work - or it’s too difficult - and that it’s not a rewarding way to invest in your community or in your local housing market. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, we’ll work with you to see you investing even in distant communities or in communities you’ve known and cared about for years. And the payoff, in truth and hard returns, will show you that it was well worth it all along.