Maybe you're in the research stage, and haven't purchased a rental property yet. Or maybe you have been investing in real estate for years, and are just getting tired from investing all of your time into your properties. Whatever your situation is, I'm sure that you have wondered about property management companies, and if they are worth your time and money. If you're honest with yourself, the goal is to spend your time the way you want to while not forking out an arm and a leg for their services. If any of the following reasons apply to you, you may want to check out a management company:

• You don't want to consistently be on call
• You live more than a couple of towns away from your investment property
• You don't have at least 10 hours to invest in your property
• You are not an expert in home maintenance
• You don't want to have to deal with difficult or non-paying tenants

On-call 24/7

Time is the one thing you can never get back. Your time and the way you spend it is your most valuable resource. You want to hang with the guys, your wife wants to go shopping with the girls, little Johnny has soccer, and little Mary has dance practice. You know you're busy, we're all busy. When your tenant has a water break in the basement, though, you have to drop what your doing and go. That is, unless you have a property management company.

You're not Bob Vila

My dad is a retired carpenter. He built houses, commercial buildings, and everything in between for over 30 years. Carpentry, electrical, plumbing, he can do it all. Me on the other hand, not so much. I wish I had half his knowledge, but he has done it forever. I am big enough to admit that I don't know everything around the house, and I don't really want to have to call him every time I have a problem. Its easier for me to just hire someone who has a working relationship with the local contractors.

Your Investment Property isn't Next Door

What fun would that be, if your tenant could just walk over to your house and bug you with every little issue that is going on with your investment property? I don't think that I could handle that. That is one of the beauties of property management companies, you can let the tenants call them and let them make that drive over to your rental property. Whether your investment property is two zip codes away or two states away, you can be assured that your investment is being handled properly.

Your Tenant's Phone Never Works on the Day Rent is Due

If you talk to any landlord, just about all of them have had this problem at one time or another. With a property management company, you don't have to deal with it any more. Part of the reason why you pay them is to deal with non-paying tenants. A good property manager will have policies set in place on how to deal with these customers. This is something you will want to find out before you sign a contract with a company.

Ultimately, the decision is yours. If you already own investment properties, and you are getting along fine without having property management companies, consider yourself lucky. Chances are, though, for the little amount of money it costs to hire one, these property management companies pay for themselves in the amount of headaches they save you from.