I've had rentals for a long time and have had property managers for some of them. They're nice, but a poor one takes almost as much effort as managing the property itself.
My neighbour has a rule that he never buys properties that are close enough for him to be tempted to manage himself. I think most of his stuff is in the US and he hires property managers.
Most of my tenants have been great but the bad ones outweigh the good ones when you have them. It only takes one bad one to eat up a decade of positive cash flow. And you will have bad ones.. sometimes they look great but end up being terrible. Sometimes people change. My two worst tenants ever looked great to start out with with good references.
Heck even with good tenants things happen.. a plumbing leak in a condo can lead to damage to other units or the common area and it ends up costing you $$. Or the drain can get clogged below your unit and the sink back up into your unit from above and run all your flooring. I've had both. Sure there's insurance but it's still a lot to deal with sometimes.
In hindsight I kind of wish I'd gone the path my neighbour did.
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Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
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