Of course, there is no “right answer” to this question. A lot of it depends on what your goals are. Are you looking to grow a large company and be a full-time real estate investor? In that case, it probably makes more sense to manage yourself.

Do you want to invest passively and grow a nest egg while doing another job? Then it would make sense to hire a manager.

Do you like getting your hands dirty and doing the rehab and maintenance yourself? In that case, I would lean toward managing yourself.
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Do you dread the challenging interactions and occasional hostility that can come from tenant interactions? It likely makes more sense to hire a third-party manager.

• - The unemployment rate peaked at 14.7% in April and is still at a very high level of 7.9% in September.
• - The Consumer Confidence Index sits at 98.5, just above this year’s trough in May, which was the second lowest rating it’s ever had in the last 50 years.
• - Household debt hit a record $14.3 trillion in March 2020 just before the pandemic hit—and is surely higher now.
• - Over 400,000 small businesses have already permanently closed and another million or so are at risk.
• - The government has spent $5.63 trillion and only brought in $2.82 trillion through the first 10-months of fiscal 2020 for a mind-numbing deficit of $2.81 trillion. In other words, the deficit is nearly equal to the total tax receipts of the federal government.
• - The federal debt is expected to reach 102% of GDP, the highest level since World War II.

As I’ve noted before, the current market is not a particularly good one for newbies or for big moves by seasoned investors. But that doesn't mean one should abandon the idea of buy-and-hold real estate investment

And a new report from Realtor.com really puts this into perspective: “Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in March, nearly 400,000 fewer homes have been listed compared to last year, leaving a gaping hole in the U.S. housing inventory.”

As should be no surprise, sellers are hesitant to list in such a volatile and unpredictable environment. According to Realtor.com’s Director of Economic Research Javier Vivas,
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"Sellers are more reluctant to list their home given the uncertainty over the economy and the pandemic environment. Buyers on the other hand, especially hungry first timers, remain largely unfazed by the challenges, and are motivated by low mortgage rates and the fear of missing out on the right home."

He would have his operatives fan out, going house to house, convincing voters to let them mail completed ballots on their behalf as a public service. The fraudster and his minions would then take the sealed envelopes home and hold them over boiling water.
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“You have to steam it to loosen the glue,” said the insider.

He then would remove the real ballot, place the counterfeit ballot inside the signed certificate, and reseal the envelope.

“Five minutes per ballot tops,” said the insider.

The tipster said sometimes postal employees are in on the scam.
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“You have a postman who is a rabid anti-Trump guy and he’s working in Bedminster or some Republican stronghold … He can take those [filled-out] ballots, and knowing 95% are going to a Republican, he can just throw those in the garbage.”

A landslide for Joe Biden resulted in a relatively orderly transfer of power. Every other scenario we looked at involved street-level violence and political crisis.

As you’ll notice, this is not a particularly entrepreneurial way to evaluate a property. I always analyze portfolios based both on their cash flow and actual value. I evaluate the cash flow by on evaluating the previous 12 months of operating history and creating a pro forma. I want to make sure the portfolio will cash flow at a 1.2 debt service coverage ratio and bring in at least $100 (and preferably $200) a month per house.