Aug 14, 2026
Should you hire a property manager for your rental properties, or should you manage them yourself?
For Wayne and Gabby, self-managing their rental portfolio was one of the scariest decisions they made early in their investing journey. It also became one of the biggest reasons their portfolio became more profitable and easier to scale.
In today’s episode of the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, Wayne and Gabby explain why they chose not to use traditional property management companies, how much that decision can potentially save, and the systems they built to manage rental properties across Alberta without constantly driving to them.
The goal is not to convince every investor that property managers are bad.
The goal is to understand the numbers, the trade-offs, and whether there may be a more profitable way to operate your rental business.
Why Wayne and Gabby chose to self-manage their rental properties
Why property management felt overwhelming in the beginning
How fear of the unknown keeps investors from managing their own properties
Why management fees can dramatically reduce early cash flow
How property management costs can affect your reserve fund
Why maintaining control of your rental business matters
The difference between delegating tasks and delegating decisions
How self-management can increase returns for joint venture partners
Why more properties inevitably create more problems
How systems prevent those problems from taking over your life
Why Wayne and Gabby keep virtually everything online
Why tenant communication happens primarily through email
How templates save time and reduce decision-making
Why clear tenant approval criteria matter
How to build a dependable local “power team”
Why Wayne and Gabby hire hourly local help instead of paying percentage-based management fees
How virtual assistants can help as a portfolio grows
How rental properties can be managed remotely without constantly visiting them
The first major reason was simple:
Money.
Wayne explains that depending on the property and management agreement, traditional property management can cost thousands of dollars per property every year.
That expense can make an enormous difference during the early years of an investment when cash flow may already be tight.
If a rental property produces $300 per month in cash flow but almost all of that goes toward management fees, there may be very little left to build reserves for vacancies, repairs, furnaces, roofs, sewer lines or unexpected emergencies.
Wayne and Gabby wanted that money staying inside the rental business.
The other major reason was control.
Delegating a task is one thing.
Delegating important decisions about your investment is another.
Nobody has the same financial interest in your rental property that you do.
Wayne and Gabby wanted control over tenant communication, inspections, repairs, approvals and the decisions that ultimately affect the profitability of their investments.
That does not mean every property manager is bad.
It means the investor ultimately remains responsible for the investment.
Scaling does not eliminate property management problems.
It creates more of them.
More properties mean more tenants.
More tenants mean more maintenance requests, lease renewals, inspections, vacancies and unexpected situations.
Wayne and Gabby explain that the goal is not to eliminate every problem.
That is impossible.
The goal is to build systems so those problems do not control your schedule or interfere with the life you were trying to create through real estate investing in the first place.
One of the biggest changes they made was moving virtually the entire property management business online.
Documents are centrally stored and accessible remotely.
Leases, mortgage information, property tax documents and other important information can be accessed quickly.
Tenant communication is primarily handled through email.
Gabby considers this one of the most important systems they implemented.
No unnecessary texting. No unnecessary phone calls. Keep communication documented and organized through email whenever possible.
That creates a clear record and makes the business easier to manage.
Over time, Wayne and Gabby stopped rewriting the same things repeatedly.
They developed templates for:
Tenant communications
Lease agreements
Questionnaires
Common email responses
Rental processes
Property management procedures
When a familiar situation occurs, they do not have to reinvent the solution.
They already know what to do.
The objective is to remove unnecessary decision-making from the business.
Tenant selection should not be based on constantly debating whether somebody seems good enough.
Wayne and Gabby created clear criteria.
Does the applicant meet the requirement?
Yes or no.
Check or X.
That makes tenant screening more consistent and easier to delegate while protecting the quality of the portfolio.
Self-management does not mean doing every repair yourself.
Wayne and Gabby built a team of trusted local professionals who can handle repairs, maintenance and emergencies.
When something happens, the question is no longer:
“How am I going to fix this?”
It becomes:
“Who do I call?”
Their ideal power-team members are solution-oriented people who can inspect a problem, determine what needs to happen and move toward solving it without requiring Wayne or Gabby to personally supervise every step.
There are still tasks that require somebody to physically attend the property.
Showings.
Inspections.
Dropping something off.
Minor errands.
Basic on-site tasks.
Instead of paying a full property management fee, Wayne and Gabby use local people who can handle those jobs hourly when required.
Some years a property may need very little in-person assistance at all.
That creates a dramatically different cost structure than paying a percentage of rent every month.
Wayne explains that property management fees can potentially amount to roughly $3,000 to $5,000 per property per year, depending on the property, rents, fees and management agreement.
Now apply that across a larger portfolio.
If an investor owned 20 properties and saved approximately $4,000 to $5,000 per property annually:
20 × $4,000 = $80,000
20 × $5,000 = $100,000
That represents potentially $80,000 to $100,000 per year staying inside the rental business instead of being paid toward management.
Those savings can improve cash flow, build reserves, increase returns and potentially even help an investor create enough income to leave another job.
Self-management does not mean spending every day dealing with tenants.
Done poorly, it absolutely can.
Done properly, Wayne and Gabby believe it can be the opposite.
Everything runs through systems.
Tenant communication has a system.
Maintenance has a system.
Tenant approval has a system.
Inspections have a system.
Documents have a system.
Emergencies have a system.
And as the portfolio grows, additional help can be added.
For Wayne and Gabby, that eventually included virtual assistants who can handle much of the day-to-day communication while they continue making the important decisions.
The objective is not to personally do everything.
The objective is to maintain control while delegating the work.
Hiring a property manager can absolutely make sense for some investors.
If property management is the only thing preventing you from buying a rental property, Wayne would rather see you hire someone than never invest at all.
But investors should not assume that outsourcing the entire operation is their only option.
With the right systems, templates, team and processes, it is possible to self-manage rental properties remotely while keeping significantly more money inside the investment.
For Wayne and Gabby, that became one of the foundations of building a profitable rental portfolio.
Wayne and Gabby Hillier are full-time Canadian real estate investors, entrepreneurs and founders of REI Masters.
Through the Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show, they share practical lessons from building, buying and managing rental properties across Alberta.
Learn the systems Gabby developed to self-manage rental properties remotely, including:
Setting up your systems and local team
Advertising and handling inquiries
Remote tenant screening
Lease agreements and expectations
Move-ins, move-outs and inspections
Maintenance and repairs
Late rent, disputes and evictions
50% off through Sunday, August 16, 2026.
Work directly with Wayne and Gabby on real estate investing strategy, acquisitions, property management, deal analysis and portfolio growth.
Learn Wayne Hillier’s framework for evaluating rental property cash flow and reducing investment risk.
Search The 5% Rule by Wayne Hillier on Amazon.
The Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show broadcasts live at 7:00 AM Mountain Time on YouTube.
There will be no live shows Monday, August 17 through Wednesday, August 19 while Wayne and Gabby are away with family.
The show returns Thursday, August 20, 2026.
Follow Wayne Hillier – Real Estate Investing Coach on YouTube.
Edmonton, Alberta
August 22, 2026
Tour real Edmonton investment properties and learn why Wayne and Gabby purchased them, how they financed them, how they select tenants and how the deals fit into their investment strategy.
The tour will also include one of their multi-unit garden suite developments nearing completion.
Family friendly, with the kids’ scavenger hunt returning.
Only a limited number of seats remain.
🌐 www.reimasters.ca/edmontonbustour
Edmonton, Alberta
September 11–13, 2026
Wayne and Gabby will be teaching due diligence, pre-closing preparation, property management and asset management.
The Canadian Real Estate Investing Morning Show will also be recorded live on stage Saturday morning.
🌐 reiconference.ca
Specialized bookkeeping and tax services for Canadian real estate investors.
Investor-focused mortgage planning for Canadian real estate investors.