Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Sorry if this is a repeat question. What is a good rule of thumb for how many units one manager should be responsible for. I understand that there are many variables - onsite or offsite, units all in one location or scattered, bookkeeping / software being used, etc. My personal rule of thumb has been that you need to be able to committ an average of 1 hour per week for every 2 units managed, so if a manager is handling 100 units they need to committ 50 hours/week to the job. I've had others in the business say that's not enough time and yet others say they manage 100's of units themselves. FYI Currently I manage 70 units, most of them are in 3 locations with some additional duplexes scattered around town. I had someone to help with paperwork in the office a few hours one day/week but they quit a few months ago. My Dad owns some of the units I manage and comes in to help with his properties, but he's in his late 70's and often leaves everything for me to handle. He has a QuickBooks person to do his monthly reports, I do them myself for my other clients. I feel like I need to hire some help if I want to sustain and grow the business, or am not close to what a solo manager should be able to handle?

It's really a personal decision. Can you afford to hire someone else, how many hrs are you working each week, etc.

Posted by karen s, WI on Friday, June 29, 2012

Currently I have 15 apartments and am asking myself if I should take this on full time and expand the business. If you find a good balance for this question please let me know.

Posted by Matthew S, PA on Friday, June 14, 2013