We started in real estate in 2004 acquiring small multi-family rental properties.  In 2005 we tried to find property management companies to manage parts our portfolio. After hiring and firing four different property management companies it became clear that competent, effective, and efficient property management was hard to come by.  Therefore, we decided manage directly ourselves and established systems and processes to better manage our own properties.  Then, the real estate crash of 2007 led us to divest most of our under-performing properties.