Does this scenario sound familiar?
“I distinctly remember a conversation I had with my boyfriend shortly after submitting an offer on my very first rental property. We were sitting at his son’s Little League baseball game, and my mind was wandering (if you’ve ever watched a Little League baseball game, you understand). I turned to my boyfriend and said, ‘What happens if they actually accept my offer on that property?’
The truth of the matter was, I was a 28-year-old with not even an ounce of rental property or landlording experience. All I knew was that I was over working a 9-to-5 W-2 job and thought that real estate investing could be my path out. Ever the black-and-white, straight-to-the-point kind of guy, my boyfriend responded with, ‘You’ll figure it out.’ Little did I know how true that statement would turn out to be.”
That’s Amelia McGee, co-author of The Self-Managing Landlord with Grace Gudenkauf, explaining her anxiety and fear as a soon-to-be DIY landlord.
To Self-Manage or Not To Self-Manage—That is the Question
Like many first-time real estate investors, Amelia found herself diving into the world of property management with little experience and plenty of uncertainty. Self-managing a rental property can be daunting, but it also offers significant benefits—greater control, potential cost savings, and hands-on learning. However, it comes…