The case for self-managing
- You keep the full rent, minus whatever a PM would take (8–12% long-term, 10–35%+ vacation rental).
- Works best if you live on-island near your property — Wailuku and Kahului landlords with one or two units are the classic case — and have time for tenant screening, maintenance calls, and Hawaii-specific landlord-tenant law.
The case for hiring a PM
- You're off-island. A large share of Maui rental owners live on the mainland — a 3-hour flight isn't a maintenance response plan.
- Hawaii's eviction and security-deposit rules are unforgiving of mistakes. A botched notice or improperly withheld deposit can cost far more than a year of management fees.
- Vacation rentals need someone answering guest messages at 11pm. That's not a part-time job.
- GET/TAT compliance. For short-term rentals, that's an 18.5% combined tax burden in 2026 (11% state TAT + 4% state GET + 0.5% county GET surcharge + 3% Maui County TAT surcharge) that has to be collected, filed, and remitted correctly every period. A PM company already has this on rails.
Rough breakeven math
If a PM charges 10% on a $2,400/month Wailuku rental, that's $240/month ($2,880/year), plus the roughly $540 minimum floor if the property is small. Ask yourself honestly: would a bad tenant, a missed GET filing, or one drawn-out eviction cost more than that in a year? For most off-island or first-time landlords, the answer is yes.
Bottom line
Self-manage if you're local, hands-on, and have one straightforward long-term unit. Hire out if you're off-island, running a vacation rental, or don't have time to be the on-call landlord.