Tired of managing your building? Your options

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Plain-English definitions with BC sources, from the encyclopedia:

• BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA)
• Rent roll
• Operating costs
• Agency

General information only. This page is not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice, and it isn’t an opinion on your situation. Laws, rates and figures change, and examples are illustrative. Get advice from a lawyer, accountant or other qualified professional before you act. Reading this page doesn’t create an agency or client relationship. Cam Appleton is a Commercial Real Estate Agent licensed by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA RE611549) with Coldwell Banker Prestige Realty. Terms and disclaimer.

What the job actually takes

List what you actually do each month: rent collection, repairs, tenant calls, year-end reconciliations, leasing. Then price your own time. If you self-manage, a buyer still deducts a management fee from net operating income (NOI, the income left after running costs), so on paper your building may already be carrying a management cost.

Your options compared

Option	Your time	Income	Tax
Keep and self-manage	The most	All of it, before your time	No change
Hire a manager	Much less	Less the management fee	Ask your accountant
Sell	None	Sale proceeds to reinvest	A sale may trigger tax, ask your accountant
Trade into something simpler	Less	Depends on the new property	A sale and a purchase, with tax and Property Transfer Tax (PTT)

In general, a trade in Canada works as a sale and a new purchase. Your accountant can confirm the tax treatment. See tax planning before you sell.

Option 1: hire a property manager

A manager takes the calls, collects rent and handles repairs. Property managers in BC generally need to be licensed, so check them on the BCFSA licensee search first.

Option 2: simplify, then decide

Net leases often shift operating costs to tenants. A clean rent roll with current leases is usually easier to manage and may be worth more to a buyer.

If selling is on your mind

Can it run without you?

Write down how things are done, hand pieces off and take longer breaks. A building that runs without the owner is easier to hand to a manager, and easier to sell.

Decide before your drive runs out

Value tends to slip when the owner has lost interest and maintenance falls behind. If you’re tired, it may be better to decide while the building still shows well.

Have a plain answer to “why are you selling?”

Buyers usually ask it first. “I’m done managing it” is fine if it’s true and said plainly. A vague answer can read as “something’s wrong”.

Fix deferred repairs or price them in

Buyers tend to take short-term repair costs off the price, so it helps to know the list before they do.

A manager is the middle option

A property manager can handle leasing and day-to-day operations, so you don’t have to sell to stop managing.

In BC, managing property for others for pay requires a BCFSA licence. Talk to your accountant about tax on a sale or a trade before you choose.

Cam is a licensed real estate agent, not a lawyer or accountant, so take the legal and tax questions to them.

Option 3: sell or trade

You can sell with tenants in place, see selling with tenants in place, or sell one building and keep another. Sell or hold walks through the numbers.

Common mistakes

• Hiring a manager without a written scope and fee.
• Selling in a hurry when a fix would have raised the price.
• Not tracking your own time as a cost.
• Ignoring tax when comparing hold and sell.

Weak tenants and the hold-versus-sell call

Tired of management often means tired of weak credit and constant rollover. Before you list, price the building as if the soft tenants leave: vacancy, leasing costs, and tenant improvements.

That number tells you whether better management, a sale-leaseback, or a clean sale is the honest path. A pretty trailing net operating income will not survive a buyer’s rent roll review.

I can help you rebuild the file and pick the path that matches how much work you still want to do.

Questions people ask

Should I hire a property manager or sell?

It depends on your situation. Many owners compare after-tax income in each case, with an accountant, and the value of their time. If you like owning but not managing, a manager may be enough.

What does commercial property management cost?

It depends on the building and the scope. Get written quotes from two or three licensed managers.

Will a buyer pay less because the building needs management?

Buyers often deduct a management fee either way. Messy leases and unclear recoveries can cost more than the management itself.

Written by Cam Appleton, Commercial Real Estate Agent, Coldwell Banker Prestige Realty. Sources are linked in the text and were checked Oct 27, 2026.