Landlords often assume that they have to take an all or nothing approach to property management. Either they do everything on their own, or they hire a property manager to take care of things. However, there's a lot more flexibility than this assumption suggests. Even if you don't want to hand over the reins to a full-time property management team, there are a few services worth hiring out.

Lock-out Services

As a landlord, if one of your tenants gets locked out, you'll be expected to provide them with a key or call a locksmith to help them get into their homes. This can be a real nuisance at 3:00 am or while you are on vacation. As such, it is a really good idea to hire a locksmith as a landlord. Generally, you can pay a small fee each month, so if a tenant gets locked out, they can call the locksmith directly and get let back into the home. The tenant may have to pay the locksmith a small fee, and this will help keep them aware and careful so they don't end up locked out of their apartment too often. You won't have to get up late at night or rush across town to let a tenant in.

Background Check Services

As someone with presumably no training in criminal law or security, you might not know how to conduct a proper background check. You might be able to look up their social media pages and check their credit, but that's about it. If you overlook something and rent to someone who is not responsible, you may end up with unpaid rent and a trashed home. Hire an agency to do a background check on your top candidates so you can pick a tenant based on complete, correct information.

Emergency Maintenance Services

Finally, you should consider hiring a handyman or maintenance service to be on-call for emergency issues. This way, if a toilet overflows at 3:00 am, or the heat goes out at midnight during a snowstorm, your tenants can call the maintenance service rather than bothering you. This will save you from having to call around and find a plumber, electrician, or another tradesperson each time there's an issue.

Even if you do not hire a property manager full-time, there are some good services that will make life as a landlord easier. Learn more by contacting commercial property management services.