The Right Property Manager

 

Owning investment property is an important step in your financial future. Using a Property Manager to manage your investment should help to minimise risk and maximise your returns. Choosing the right Property Manager for your needs is essential to correctly manage your property and ensure your investment works for you.

 


Helping you maximise your investment
A Property Manager will do more than just collect your rent – they understand the laws and legislation of Real Estate, find and screen suitable tenants, conduct inspections and organise maintenance where required.

A good Property Manager will also provide advice on increasing the value of your investment, ensure any disputes with tenants are dealt with quickly and efficiently, and provide a very high quality service which removes the stress for you. They will regularly  review your rental, have access to comparable rentals and negotiate appropriate increases, while minimising vacancy periods.

Most importantly, a good Property Manager will assist you to preserve the condition of your property, increase its value and maximise income – that’s ultimately why you are investing in property in the first place!

 

 

Helping you manage your risks
A Property Manager is beneficial when it comes to drawing up leases and submitting bonds to the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA). Unless you are in the Property Industry yourself, making sure your interests are covered legally can be a daunting task. With a professional to manage your interests and advise you on legislation, your experience as a landlord should be an enjoyable and rewarding one.

 

 

Understand what you’re getting for your fees

Whilst it is possible to gain discounted property management fees, eg; 6-7% of rental collected, this discount cannot be achieved without discounting service levels. Be aware of any hidden or unbundled fees that may creep in and also be aware of industry service level benchmarks if considering a low value, discounted service. A total, high quality Property Management service should mean the property manager conducts everything from
tenant interviews and reference checks to dispute resolution services, inspection reports and sourcing tradesmen for maintenance. 

While paying a fair market fee for professional services is important, it should be only one of the deciding factors. You should always cynically consider an agent who tries to win business purely by discounting. If they are willing to give away their own money, should they be managing your assets? Therefore, it’s important not to only look for a Property Manager with low fees. This doesn’t necessarily mean you will save money in the long run – especially if they fail to look after your property well, choose unsuitable tenants or charge more for maintenance.

Remember, the Property Industry and its legalities are complex and ever changing. Ensure you adequately cover your investment and make it work for you by engaging a professional that delivers a high quality service.

  

 

20 questions you should be asking

Does your Property Manager:

Conduct regular rental reviews and provide you with comparisons?

Conduct comprehensive routine inspections? 

Monitor lease dates to minimise vacancy periods?

Ensure rent is paid on time, every time? 

Conduct maintenance where necessary and have excellent relationships with tradesmen?

Monitor the property and tenants regularly?

Know and act in accordance to the Residential Tenancies Act? 

Provide you with condition reports? 

Have the capability, database and marketing knowledge to re-let your property quickly? 

Understand the bond lodgement process and legalities? 

Have experience screening, interviewing and choosing suitable tenants? 

Advise on works or maintenance to increase the value of your property? 

Conduct thorough final inspections? 

Contact you and respond to your queries in a timely manner where necessary? 

Act appropriately on your behalf? 

Have strong communication skills and keep you fully up to date? 

 

10 Tips to Help You Find the Right Tenant

1. Clean the whole home. Whenever you show a house make sure it is sparkling clean condition. This means every corner should not only look clean but smell clean.

2. Spruce up old paint. Paint is an easy and quick fix to making a place look better. The rule of thumb is to stick with white paint because it makes rooms look bigger and brighter and this also allows tenants a neutral colour to decorate themselves.

3. Make sure the outside of the house is appealing too. One of the tricks to finding the best tenants is to present the home in the way you want it to be kept. If people are willing to rent a house with an overgrown yard and trash in the lawn then they will probably not take care of the house once it is theirs.

4. Try not to show a house on trash day. This is a great thing to keep in mind because garbage days make the whole neighbourhood look a little rough. In addition to the trash bins and bags there will be a bad smell and the possibility of critters that drag trash down the street.

5. Clean up building common areas. If you are renting an apartment make certain that areas like the front hall, laundry facility, and mailboxes are neat and tidy. Your potential tenants will check out these spots before they make a final decision.

6. Make sure the rooms make sense. If someone is currently living in the home and uses the dining room as their home office have them move those items to a more traditional location. This way you can show the house with rooms being used in a traditional manner which helps renters visualise their things in it.

7.Repair anything that needs fixed. Look at your rental with new eyes and repair even the smallest items that need it like replacing damaged blinds, flyscreens etc.

8. Clean out forgotten areas. Once you live in a home it is easy to overlook things like kitchen cabinets which can hold dust and dead insects, or windows that are covered with fingerprints.

9. Clean out the appliances. Potential renters will look inside refrigerators and stoves and there is nothing worse than seeing burnt on food or mould inside. Clean it out and you will likely get the same level of clean from your tenants.

10. Most importantly, present your house the way you would like it left when the tenant vacates!

These tricks to find the best tenants can go a long way toward making your rental process easy. Remember that people who are willing to accept a home in less than perfect condition are unlikely to keep it in better shape than they found it. On the other hand people who maintain their home and take pride in paying rent on time want a house that is worth their effort so they will be attracted to a well-kept place.

What Our Client's are Saying...

 

We are really satisfied with the time it took to find a tenant for our vacant investment home, Ray White were very quick at finding a suitable tenant. We are always notified and informed of routine inspections that are carried out and think that the service Kaeren and Rachel provide is excellent. – Glen & Liz, July 2009

  

 

Rachel and Kaeren helped us find a tenant for our property. They always kept us informed of the progress. They saved us a lot of time and found us the perfect tenants. – Gill & Allyson, October 2009

  

I am really satisfied at the time it took to find a suitable tenant for my property, Kaeren and Rachel were very thorough with the tenants applications and definitely achieved the price I wanted for my investment. – Jamie, November 2009

  

Kaeren and Rachel did a great job finding me a tenant, they always give me great feedback after every inspection and I am happy I chose Ray White Tweed Heads to manage my investment property. – Paul, November 2009

  

Ray White Tweed Heads are very professional to deal with, always keep me informed about my property and tenants. – Jack, November 2009

  

Rachel and Kaeren are very professional, excellent with their communication and feedback. We would definitely recommend them to anyone that owns an investment property, if they would like it managed professionally and with little hassle. – D & J Jones, December 2009

 

 

The level of service provided by Ray White Tweed Heads was excellent and we would highly recommend Kaeren and Rachel and the team at Ray White Tweed Heads for any Real Estate needs. – Bruce and Jan, March 2010