When asked what our clients love about having a property manager, these are the most common answers . . .

“Our property manager saves us time”:

It can be a real hassle when tenants move unexpectedly with having to advertise, showing the home several times, doing the background checks, making a selection, communicating with everyone, writing up legal documents and doing the ingoing inspection. Also, if the tenants are mis-behaving the court process from start to finish can take landlords up to 35 hours.

“Property managers have high expertise”:

There have been so many legal, insurance and compliance changes that it is hard to keep up. Even the best, well meaning, landlord can break the rules and end up having to pay tenants thousands in exemplary damages. A recent Tribunal case where the landlord mowed the tenant’s lawns during a tenancy ruled against the landlord for not allowing the tenants ‘quiet enjoyment’ of the property. This cost the landlord who thought he was helping the tenants thousands of dollars in exemplary damages. A property manager can protect landlords from accidentally (or intentionally) breaking the rules and incurring fines.

“We earn more money by using a property manager”:

At the time of marketing for a new tenant a property management company can use their database of pre-vetted tenants to help achieve a higher rent. Our unique and specialised database, combined with modern techniques like 3-D walkthrough tours, which target people moving into the area – we achieve on average 6% higher than market rent. To put that in context, that can be $20 to $30 more rent to the landlord per week.

“We don’t need to deal with tenants”:

Many landlords love the fact that if a property management company is working for them, they do not have to deal directly with tenants. Kind-hearted landlords especially love it, as they can be more prone to leaving the rent level low or accepting bad behaviour by avoiding confrontation. Even experienced landlords find that property managers take away the stress and can give them a more relaxed lifestyle.

“The property manager keeps the rent up to market level so we earn more money”:

Through a combination of regular rental increases a property management company can earn landlords thousand’s more in rent per year, which well and truly covers their fees. It is often a misconception that property management is a cost, when really it is a way of increasing profit. Approximately 80% of self-managed properties are under the current market rent level. Rent have gone up close to 14% in one year recently – when did you last check yours.

“We hated doing regular inspections”:

For many self-managing landlords, doing a ‘routine inspection’ feels very daunting. As a result, it can feel awkward correcting tenant behaviour, or requesting repairs for damage caused. Often, they do not take very good notes and feel rushed going through. Prudent insurance companies now require at least 4 inspections every year and if a claim is lodged, often ask for full detailed written inspections reports, including photos of every inspection done. They will also ask for all the details and background checks that were done during the selection process. Property managers happily do routine inspections and note down health and safety matters, hazards, suggested improvements, maintenance, adherence to civil law, adherence to tenancy law, take photos and serve legal notices if required to the tenants. Having a property manager makes life so much easier.

So please consider having a chat to us if you feel we can help you. Our advice is free, contact us any time.

– Greg Watson