Self-manage, or hire a manager?
An honest comparison, with the arithmetic. Plenty of Saskatoon landlords should keep managing their own property. This page is about telling which group you are in.
The arithmetic on an $1,800 rental
Management at 10% is $180 a month plus GST, or $2,160 a year before tax. Here is what that number sits against.
Tax-deductible as an expense against rental income, so the real cost to you is lower than the headline figure.
A single avoidable empty month costs most of the annual fee. Two of them cost more than the fee outright.
Unpaid rent, damage beyond the deposit, a hearing and the turnover that follows. Screening is the cheapest insurance in this business.
Where self-managing landlords actually lose money
Rarely on the things they worry about. Almost always on these four.
Vacancy
Listing late, pricing by instinct, showing only on weekends. Days empty are the most expensive line item a rental has, and they never appear on a statement.
Screening
Skipping employment verification or a previous-landlord call because an applicant seems fine. The cost of getting this wrong dwarfs every other decision.
Deferred maintenance
A $200 repair postponed becomes a $2,000 one. Tenants also stop reporting problems to landlords who are slow to act, which is how small issues become structural.
Procedure
Notice periods, deposit handling and entry rules under The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. Getting the paperwork wrong loses hearings that the facts would have won.
Keep managing it yourself if
Common questions
Is a property manager worth it for one rental?
It depends on three things: how close you live to the property, how much of the work you can do yourself, and what your time is worth. On an $1,800 rental, management runs $180 a month plus GST. If it prevents one extra month of vacancy a year, it has paid for itself. If you live nearby, handle repairs yourself and have a stable long-term tenant, self-managing can genuinely cost less.
How much does a property manager cost in Saskatoon?
SilverLeaf charges 10% of collected rent plus GST for rental properties, with nothing charged while a unit is vacant. Condominium corporations start at $750 a month. Rates in the Saskatoon market generally sit between 8% and 12% depending on what is included.
What does self-managing actually cost?
The fee is the visible cost; the invisible ones are vacancy, turnover, time and risk. Longer vacancies, mispriced rent, slow maintenance that becomes expensive maintenance, and procedural mistakes under The Residential Tenancies Act are where self-managing landlords typically lose money.
When does self-management stop making sense?
Usually when one of four things changes: you buy a second or third property, you move away from the property, your tenant situation turns adversarial, or the time it takes starts costing you more than the fee would.
Want a number to compare against?
We will quote your property whether or not you hire us. Comparing against a real figure beats guessing.