Experience counts in the growing market of rental property management because a lot is at stake. Trends are constantly shifting and competition is getting tougher – real estate professionals need to show extensive knowledge and good intuition about the future twists and turns in the real estate market if they want to stay in the game.
When it comes to rental property management, experience is vital because only years spent in the industry can build up a professional that knows what to expect and how to react in advance – and on top of that, keep up with coming trends in the market.
To put it simply – a good rental property manager should be the jack-of-all-trades. They should handle sales, marketing, laws, finance, and maintenance. Most people are happy if they are good at only two of these things, but rental property managers are expected to juggle everything previously mentioned with high levels of effectiveness.
To cut a long story short, being a successful rental property manager is much harder from the inside than it looks from the outside. So let’s explore what skills and traits a professional needs to possess.
In the real estate industry, a degree is no substitute for proper communication skills. Admirable verbal communication is a core competency required in every working place, but when it comes to rental property management – it’s essential. A rental property manager’s job relies on one-on-one communication with many different individuals every day, and most of the deals require great verbal communication.
A set of good verbal communication skills implies assertiveness, effective speaking and active listening. Rental property managers are constantly engaged in interpersonal communication – this is the place where deals are negotiated, disputes solved and agreements are signed – staying always professional and choosing the right set of words that will work in the best interests of both landlords and tenants can be learned only through experience.
Apart from that, non-verbal and written communication is also of high importance to rental property managers. Their choice of clothing, gestures, and expressions can decide whether a landlord will find them authoritative and reliable enough to entrust them their property. Written communication will also be of vital importance when it comes to drafting up agreements and closing deals.
When negotiating between tenants and landlords, persuasive skills will also come in handy.
Rental property management is a service-based industry that deals with clients while constantly trying to preserve their best interest – and this is a very difficult job. When everything goes smoothly usually it’s taken for granted, but when problems pop up, the manager is always the one to blame.
In the real estate business problems arise every day – landlords put difficult terms, tenants damage the property, governmental regulations change. Not to mention landlord-tenant disputes that can take many forms – from neighbourhood problems, repair issues and non-payment to eviction.
Rental property managers should navigate all of these disputes and take the stress off in every situation. What’s more, they should balance the communication between landlords and tenants, protect the interests of both sides and, most importantly, ensure that everyone upholds their side of the agreement.
Only years of dealing with different situations and clients can provide a rental property manager with enough credibility and confidence to navigate any dispute while staying calm under pressure.
Phones keep on ringing, tenants are complaining, piles of paperwork are constantly accumulating on their desks – this is how a typical day in the life of a rental property manager looks like. Keeping a clear desk and a to-do list won’t be enough to keep things straight in real estate business. High levels of organization, detail-oriented work, and a good methodology are required from every successful rental property manager. Not to mention that all of the negotiated deals usually have tight deadlines.
To keep all sides happy, keep finances neat and finish the paperwork on time, rental property managers should have a firm understanding of what needs to be done and the ability to distinguish priorities. This can only be achieved if they possess strong analytical and reasoning skills. Skilled rental property managers should also have strong administrative and financial skills. Aside from that, multitasking and good time management are expected from everyone in the real estate business.
Rental property managers should not only be marketing their clients’ properties and their area of work, but they should also constantly market their company, themselves, and their own services. A set of marketing techniques is of vital importance in the real estate business. Content marketing, word-of-mouth, SEO strategies – they are all core competencies that a successful rental property manager should possess to stand out from local competitors.
A set of exceptional writing skills is also required in order to make good property descriptions that will attract tenants. Social media platforms are also an important battleground between competitors where every review counts.
Additionally, digital marketing is of vital importance in real estate business but it’s not enough. Experienced rental property managers know the importance of being engaged and recognised in their community. It’s important to mingle between residents and property owners so people will find real estate professionals reliable and authoritative when it comes to real estate business.
Face-to-face communication and taking the position of authority in real estate business is good for maintaining a reputation and spreading word-of-mouth in the communities where rental property managers manage properties.
Nowadays, if they want to remain relevant in the business, rental property managers should be aware of the role technology plays in the real estate industry and keep up to date with new software, applications, and platforms. To do that they must constantly show an inclination to learn new skills and methods and be open about implementing them in their work.
Technology is a mighty tool that can increase a property’s visibility and alleviate communication between clients. Tedious processes can be automated and face-to-face communication can become the mode for negotiating the important stuff only. Apart from that, technology can reduce costs and speed up communication. In a competitive market place, keeping up to date with technology is a must.
Deciding between having your property managed or undertaking self-management can be a tough decision. Landlords and investors want to protect their assets and maximize the return on their investment so they often decide to do it on their own – which can be a little bit more than they can chew. To preserve the value of one’s investment requires a lot of time, energy and effort.
On the other hand, hiring a rental property manager comes with costs and concerns too. How high are their fees, will they really take care of your property, will they work in your best interest or just see you as another client?
So, what should you do? Don’t look for a “one size fits all” solution – some landlords do the job on their own smoothly, some can lose thousands if there isn’t a rental property manager to handle their property.
Before you make up your mind consider all of the things mentioned below – they will provide you with enough guidance to make the right decision.
In order to preserve your property’s value, you will need to be capable of handling marketing, law, finance, and maintenance. Being a landlord that keeps tenants satisfied and increases their property value entails having a broad range of skills. Managing effectively demands a set of competences and acquired knowledge that can be learned only through experience.
But, it’s certainly plausible to become knowledgeable in the field of real estate business. You can read blogs and books, follow professionals in the field, develop your marketing techniques and learn about trends in the industry. Be prepared, however – it may take a while to learn the ropes.
Although, undertaking this type of effort may turn out to be worthwhile in the long run. You may turn out to be a very successful landlord and acquire a set of new skills. Some people really enjoy being landlords. They don’t have a problem with going through the screening process and engaging with their tenants, and don’t find dealing with administration and finance tedious. If you can picture yourself doing it – you should certainly go down that route.
But aside from the willingness to learn about real estate business, what you also need to consider is whether you have the time to do it, and, most importantly, whether you want to spend your time acquiring knowledge in this area. If you have a stressful job, ambitions in some completely other area and a family – keeping up to date with constantly changing governmental regulations can certainly stress you out. If you are a person that already has a lot on their plate – learning about the best way to market your property online can be a waste of time.
It’s absolutely understandable if you are just not interested in real estate business and view your property as a pure investment. There is also nothing wrong if you don’t want to spend your time keeping tenants happy and prioritizing their needs over your own. This is the reason why there are a number of professionals out there ready to jump in and respond to your tenant’s maintenance needs – so, you can keep your peace of mind and invest your time and energy where your personal calling is.
One of the reasons why landlords and investors decide to take the job of managing their property in their own hands is because there are so many bad companies out there. The market is saturated with businesses and it’s hard to distinguish which real estate agency will provide you with a rental property manager that will devote enough time and attention to your property.
You will often hear owners complaining that they are prepared to pay the fees and hire rental property management but what keeps them from doing this is a feeling that rental property managers just don’t care about their property. Which is probably true in most cases – some property managers manage hundreds, even thousands of properties. There are many who don’t act professionally and all they care about is filling in properties with tenants and reducing vacancies.
This is certainly a worrying possibility. However, accusing every rental property agency as a waste of your money is a huge generalisation. There is unprofessional behaviour in every industry – and the real estate business is no different.
The other side of the coin is that if you invest enough time interviewing rental property managers, you will find a good professional that will not only take proper care of your property but may switch things in a way that, after years you will end up increasing your income much more than you ever expected.
Every landlord and investor sees their property as their best asset and a good way to grow their wealth. But, there is a difference between seeing the potential in a property and managing that property with a business perspective. A good property manager will understand your investment goals and push them a little further. They will see the potential for increasing value where you didn’t. If they are successful players in the field, they have a developed system of marketing tools and techniques, an established tenant screening method and a way to recognise the best tenants for your property.
Aside from that, experienced rental property managers have already stumbled upon many problems and they had the time to learn from those mistakes, they have colleagues to consult and contacts that can provide quick solutions – so, they can easily find a way around rising problems, which as you are probably painfully aware, managed properties have in abundance.
Managing effectively is a skill that can be learned only through experience. Dealing with maintenance needs, staying up to date with governmental regulations and serving legal notices is not only a stressful job but it can also put you in a position to lose a lot of money.
Rental property managers understand new trends and shifts in the market and they know to recognise opportunities for your property in advance. This is the advantage that comes with hiring a rental property manager, and it shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Your property may score high presently, but you can never know what the future brings. Laying that property in the safe hands of an experienced manager can keep you assured that you won’t stumble upon long vacancies and lose valuable income. Making a decision to cut corners, may at first seem like saving money but it may seriously affect the future value of your investment.
You should definitely consider the levels of your emotional attachment to your property. Maybe you’ve spent loving moments with your partner there, you’ve earned that property from your parents or you worked long years in order to invest in it.
There is nothing wrong with that, but sentimentally can only get in the way of getting the best out of your property. Emotional attachment can only distract you, as you may end up turning down perfectly suitable tenants just because you are anxious around picturing unknown people living in what used to be your home. When you’re emotionally attached to your property it’s hard to see it as a product.
Not to mention that tenants can be tedious, they can call in the middle of the night, cause trouble in the neighbourhood and don’t pay rent on time. They can violate the terms of the agreement and there are high chances you will have to deal with evictions too. If you are not detached from your property dealing with these types of problems can get too stressful and personal. This type of situation will get particularly troubling if you are not a confrontational person by nature.
You can think about rental property managers as a buffer between you and your tenants. They take off the stress and emotion, so you can decide on your own terms how involved you want to be in your property. They can be in charge of maintenance, check tenants and collect rent – so, you can stay completely out of it, have a peace of mind and enjoy all of the advantages of being a landlord. Tenants are going to be managed by professionals and you only need to check your rental deposit every month. This will definitely reduce your stress and protect you from overemotional reactions when problems arise.
All things considered, this is an important decision for your income so you really need to devote some time to consider all the facts before you make up your mind. Whether you choose to hire a rental property manager or decide you want to do it by yourself, it’s important to remember that you’re not tied down by your decision. You can always switch things around if the route you choose doesn’t seem to show results.
Experienced rental property managers can help you maximize rental returns on a property investment at home. When it comes to managing an investment from a distance, however, reliable expert help is essential.
Many choose to invest interstate as a diversification strategy to reduce the financial risk involved in investing in a single market. Additionally, investing beyond state borders can maximize your profits, since you can benefit from higher capital growth opportunities than the market of your current location offers. If you live in a low capital growth area or your home state real estate market is underperforming, expanding your property portfolio to include different locations can lead to much better returns on your investments.
Certainly, though, delving in a foreign market you know little about can bring in a sense of uncertainty over the success of your investment. Not to mention that it can be costly and difficult to self-manage your property from another state.
That’s precisely why local insights are indispensable in the real estate field. Interstate investors can benefit much from hiring reliable local property management services for a number of reasons.
Investing interstate calls for multiple visits to the area you’re buying in. It starts with visiting before purchasing (to avoid buying ‘sight unseen’ blunders!), but later requires frequent on-site presence for tenant screening and quickly arranging different inspections. Enlisting a local rental property management company can save you a lot of trouble.
Major support by reliable, experienced rental property managers is crucial, especially in the very beginning, in the tenant screening process. Proper tenant screening is an essential part of property management and involves several levels of checking candidates’ background and history before signing a lease. A local team can help attract the right prospective tenants for your property in a number of ways.
Skilled property managers have knowledge of how best to advertise the property. Due to their frequent business with advertising agencies, they can often strike good deals on both offline and online advertising costs. Having dealt with placing plenty of property ads, local experts will also know how to craft the language and where to focus the marketing to get candidates fast.
Setting a competitive asking rent is another crucial aspect of how interstate investors can benefit from local market expertise. The importance of determining the optimal rent is easy to comprehend. If you set the rent too high it means you are likely to end up waiting long before you find tenants while asking for too little in rent will be losing you money. Fixing the right rent rate requires expert insights on the local real estate market, next to reviewing data or using professional rental rate software.
At a later stage, enlisting a reliable rental property manager becomes even more important. The local specialist team will professionalize your relationship with tenants and help you be a good distance landlord. In your stead, they take over time-consuming matters that range from collecting rent and paperwork to performing regular inspections, spotting damages and handling emergencies at odd hours.
Besides saving money, you will also spare yourself from stress and wasting your energy or losing valuable free time. A smoother interstate investment process that’s less taxing on the personal level will reflect in the amount of earning in the long run, even more than you might think. You will have more time and ease of mind to focus on growing your business and enjoying better-quality family and interpersonal relations.
By providing timely and spot-on maintenance, you will both keep your tenants satisfied and safeguard the value of your property.
An experienced rental property manager from the local market will have access to a trustworthy network of professional maintenance companies that provide quality work. Instead of choosing more or less at random from the yellow pages, you can save money and maximize effectiveness thanks to local savvy.
In their usual course of business, property managers partner with dependable, well-priced local traders and are even likely to arrange discounts based on their trusted cooperation. They will also handle tenants’ complaints and supervise the repair process and outcomes, helping you be a good distance landlord.
Not only can good property managers source the best value-for-money licensed contractors for you, but they will carry out regular inspections to discover potential maintenance issues in time. You could save heaps of money by avoiding larger problems thanks to timely property care.
A property management company that is truly engaged will know that preventive maintenance ensures the value of your assets and can even increase it. Thus, they can additionally suggest attractive and useful property improvements preferred by tenants.
Strict tenancy laws affect and constrain landlords, having the potential to cause many problems if you’re not clear about their specificities in advance. In addition to federal laws, each state has its own housing laws that sometimes vary considerably from state to state. Some of the aspects regulated by law include tenant screening requirements, regulations about property conditions and safety, concluding and terminating lease agreements, managing security deposits, and many more.
You need to make sure you’re well informed on the local legal context as early as during the initial property investment process. Sales contract templates, acceptance processes, transfer fees, and land tax rates will differ from your home state, so you need to get informed of the specifics in a timely manner.
A property management company can offer information on local variances in legal requirements guiding tenancy and help you remain compliant with the housing laws. This is a crucial benefit since legal mistakes will easily slow you down or hurt your rental income.
Moreover, by assisting you during the tenant screening process with choosing the best tenants, a property manager simultaneously helps you minimize the risk of potentially costly lawsuits later. Anyone in the property rental business knows that one problematic tenant is enough to cause serious legal issues and financial losses. An interstate investor can utilize the property manager’s knowledge and experience to avoid vulnerability on this count.
If you manage to successfully avoid lawsuits or legal difficulties of any kind, the money you will be saving this way will render the hire of a quality rental property management company well worth the cost.
In addition to the above-mentioned benefits, if you make a good choice on a rental property management company, a proactive team can also provide feedback on your overall portfolio and help you optimize your interstate investment strategy by suggesting further opportunities in their area.
As you know by now, the property markets in different parts of Australia vary widely. Factors such as availability of jobs in the area, population growth, and potential private or public infrastructure investments all influence the local property market. While researching statistics can help you grasp the general market trends, sometimes very local factors specific to a certain suburb district or a single street can affect the value of a property considerably.
In a suburb with excellent real estate market parameters, a property’s value can easily drop because of hard-to-predict factors that you can only understand if you had a thorough knowledge of the locality. These include, for instance, a source of noise pollution nearby, electricity lines in the streetscape, frequent main road congestion, and many more.
A qualified local property management team will assist you in making an informed decision on the initial or on further property purchases in their area.
With each of the above being said, everything rests on choosing a reliable rental property manager. As much as they can truly benefit interstate investors, property management services vary wildly. Make sure you arm yourself with the knowledge on how to navigate the market offer in your favour. A rule of thumb: always choose a local property manager, from the same area as your investment.
If you’ve hired a buying agent, they will likely recommend a local property manager but why limit your options? Doing brief research beforehand won’t take too much of your time. Making this small effort will pay off greatly in the long run, considering the exact form, quality and, certainly, the price of the service can vary quite substantially.
Reading former customers’ honest feedback can help you decide more than anything a property manager will tell you. In fact, a nuanced customer review can help you distinguish PR tricks on the property manager’s website from useful content, essential to understanding how they actually work. Any company will sound impressive in its advertising. So, feel free to rely on word of mouth based on former experience, but pair this with your own common sense.
Considering the fact that property management services aren’t a fixed, standard bundle, you need to make sure you understand exactly what they cover in their service. Ensure that you’re getting the basics, such as availability and prompt, effective communication.
Moreover, understand their strong points, since not all property managers excel in the same aspects. Find out whether they focus on-site presence and commitment, or will also offer more local market guidance and help you maximize rental returns. Decide what suits your needs best.
During any investment process, but especially in interstate investments, failure or success often depends on how well you foresee costs and manage potential expenses related to the investment. When it comes to hiring a rental property manager, be prepared for the cost in advance.
Property management costs are often tax-deductible, so you can talk to your accountant to get the real numbers for the cost. Factor this in early on during the budget planning stage and be aware that these companies can charge much more than those in your home region.
Remember that when it comes to rental property management companies, a higher price reflects better and more comprehensive service in most cases. Paying more at the beginning can save you even more money later on.
A red flag to beware of: if a single property manager or two stand out offering a far better price below the average range, you should make sure they aren’t perhaps lacking in some aspects of the service. Cheaper rates may end up costing you more in case of underperformance on their part.
Property managers provide on-going services and handle most of the tasks concerning the financial and physical management of the investment on your behalf. After opting to hire a rental property management company for your investment, the next step is to find out how much you’re expected to pay for the service.
Of course, the commission property managers charge varies depending on the service packages they offer. Because their fees depend on a variety of factors, choosing based on the best rate offered is a bad idea.
To make an informed decision and choose the best value-for-money option, you need a transparent overview of the services covered with each. Below we provide you with some basic guidelines on what commission rental property managers usually charge.
Rental property managers usually charge for their services using a property management fee system.
The flat-rate system is the less-often-used of the two and refers to a property management fee system where you pay based on an average, monthly flat rate. This amount is stable and not dependant on the type of property they manage, how high the rent for it is or whether or not the property is currently let.
Some property managers advertise this payment system as an “all-inclusive fee” and stress the advantage of having just this one and only cost to cover, without additional charges for other services.
As practical as it sounds, you need to make sure this kind of fee actually covers all the services you actually need. These packages tend to be limited in the range of services they cover without a tailor-made offer adjusted to the specific client’s needs.
This is a dynamic type of property management fee that formulates the amount you need to pay based on a percentage of the gross monthly rent paid for your property. This way of calculating the rental property manager’s commission allows for a tailor-made, personalized combination of services suited to the investor’s specific needs.
Most likely you will end up hiring a property manager that charges a certain percentage-based commission fee.
Before you can decide between price offers, make sure you know what exactly you’re comparing. Always ask the property management agency to specify what services their management fee offer covers.
A quality property manager will cover the basic bundle of services including:
Additional benefits that a property manager can guarantee and include in their commission could be:
In most cases, there are certain costs not covered by the monthly management fee and you should anticipate extra charges for these. Additional fees not included in the basic management fee usually include:
The letting fee covers a professionally performed tenant screening process and the handling of administrative work involved after finding a tenant. The specific services covered include:
The letting fee is a one-time additional cost usually paid as half of the first month’s rent. In some cases it will cost you one weekly rent or, less often, a flat rate is charged. In either of these two cases, make sure to find out exactly what services the letting fee covers as some of the above may be omitted and charged additionally.
You may not need to pay an additional renewal fee as some property management companies include this in the commission. Most often, a renewal fee is charged in the same amount as a lease fee.
Lease renewal is an important aspect of ensuring high rental yield since keeping good tenants for a longer period of time has a beneficial effect on the yield. Paying a renewal fee can additionally serve as a strengthened incentive for the property manager to work for tenant retention.
Your rental property manager can take over extra tasks that come with unforeseen circumstances. In such special cases most likely an extra fee will be charged, part of which is to cover administrative costs. These cases include:
Property management commission ranges from 5% up to about 15% of the rent paid for your investment property, plus GST. This amount covers the basic property management services including the monthly management tasks and rent collection. The exact commission will vary from area to area and will depend on the type and value of your property.
Property management agencies that charge a flat rate in the form of a fixed annual fee usually set it at about 7.5% plus GST.
Don’t forget that you’re also paying GST, so when looking at property management offers, make sure to check whether they are stated in amounts inclusive of the GST or not.
As noted above, a number of additional costs get charged in addition to the commission fee. Expect to have more of these additional costs with agencies that charge closer to the 5% for the management fee, whereas a higher percentage for the management fee is likely to have less additional costs later.
And in the end, bear in mind that you need to inform yourself about the specifics of this before concluding a contract with a rental property management agency.
The average property management commission rate will depend on several factors, including the location of the property. As a rule of thumb, in areas where an abundance of rental property management agencies compete on the market, you can usually secure a good deal for lower prices. Likewise, in areas with a few property managers, the prices will be higher.
In a similar vein, property management fees tend to be lower in inland suburbs and areas closer to the CBDs, while a good property manager will likely cost you more in outer and more secluded suburbs.
Population density also matters. In areas with a greater number of apartments, houses and units, and especially localities with many higher-value properties, management fees will be lower.
The experience of the agency also plays an influential role in setting the rate. Of course, more experienced agencies with a long list of satisfied clients will charge higher fees. You need to decide on the quality-cost trade-off, however, sometimes newcomers to the market can surprise with a far more meticulous and personalized service than a more established property management company. Thorough research can help you assess offers and land a good deal.
You can’t have a simple answer to the question of how much commission do rental property managers charge. To a great extent, what you end up paying depends on the kind of rental property management services you want.
In any case, make sure you inform yourself well before taking a decision. To choose the most efficient property management offer you should have a clear idea of what you will get with each. Ask many questions and consider whether the offer matches your specific property’s needs.
First of all, you need to be methodical and to establish an effective screening method – that’s a given.
Selecting the right tenant often means choosing among a number of prospective tenants. This is a time-consuming and stressful task, so you need to make sure you’re well prepared for the process. The right tenant should be a financially responsible person with a clean criminal and eviction background. But, this is not all. The ideal long-term tenant should possess a number of qualities that will assure you your property won’t be damaged or that they won’t cause trouble in the neighbourhood. Selecting the right tenant for your rental property will help you save time in the future as well as preserve the value of your property and investment.
In the article below we’re going to give you some directions on how to select the right tenant, how to speed up the tenant screening process and how to go through the whole process with the smallest amount of stress possible.
As a landlord, you shouldn’t allow yourself to discriminate against any of the prospective tenants on factors such as race, gender, nationality, religion, disability or familial status. If you want to make sure you treat them all equally while at the same time making the process easier for you, it might be a good idea to prepare a standard questionnaire. You will kill two birds with one stone – avoid discrimination and speed up the screening process. The standard tenant questionnaire can represent the first cycle of your screening process, it will help you notice any red flags and allow you to eliminate some candidates early on in the process, so you don’t need to go through the whole process with every prospective tenant.
Do not allow yourself to ask personal questions and keep a positive attitude during the whole process. You don’t want them to feel like they are under investigation. Below are some questions that you can incorporate in your standard questionnaire.
One of the first questions can be: Why are they moving? A proper answer to this question will give you a lot of information about the prospective tenant – their job and way of living. The answer to this question can also raise some red flags. If they are moving due to eviction – and they don’t have some good argument about it – then this probably won’t be the best applicant. Also, ask them how much time they’ve spent in their current residence. If they are renting for the first time – how much time are they planning to stay.
You are looking for a tenant that is willing to sign a yearly lease. The right tenant will also be eager to find a long-term solution for their dwelling. Satisfied tenants and landlords usually prolong their agreements longer than a year, which is the best aftermath for both sides. Ask for their monthly income, this is a vital piece of information, but we will go a little bit further into it below.
If you have a no-pet policy, this is also one of the first things you should find out about your tenant. If they insist on bringing their pet this is either a deal-breaker, or you should consider changing your policy.
Remember that this is not all about renting your property and finding the perfect candidate. The prospective tenants will also need to be satisfied and keep in mind that they are also going through a time-consuming and stressful process. The candidates probably have daily jobs and a lot on their plate, and this is exhausting for them as much as it is for you. So, be understanding and keep a positive attitude, regardless of whether the tenant doesn’t seem like the best applicant.
Don’t be too authoritative or intimidating. Your property is your best asset and it’s understandable that it’s of high importance to you – but remember that you are not dealing with a potential criminal, just with prospective tenants interested to rent your property. And most importantly, give them space to ask questions. Serious candidates will also have a number of questions regarding the property, location, and rules.
The tenants need to be satisfied in order to keep the agreement. Keep in mind, that as much as you are looking for a good tenant they are also looking for a good landlord. Honest and open communication should go both ways.
This is one of the first things you should find out about your tenants. You can rely on their answer or you can check their records if you want to be sure. Criminal records are public information that you can get at courthouses – if you can provide your tenant’s name and date of birth. Landlords usually view criminal history as one of the most important pieces of information about their prospective tenants. You certainly don’t want someone bringing trouble to your property – the need for a criminal background check is understandable.
But although there’s no denying that this is vital information about the applicant’s background, remember to not immediately eliminate candidates that are open and sincere about their criminal background – you don’t want to discriminate perfectly suitable candidates due to their past. Nothing guarantees that good-on-paper candidates are any better. Of course, balancing between protecting your property and avoiding discrimination can be challenging – this is one of the reasons why hiring a rental property manager seems like a good solution.
Additionally, make sure that the candidates will provide you with a valid id.
In order to do a complete rental screening process, you need to be informed about your prospective tenant’a rental history. Many landlords like to reach out to prior landlords and ask them about their previous tenant’s behaviour. From their answers and tone of voice, you can learn a lot about the candidate you’re dealing with. Below is a list of important questions you should focus on – if you decide to contact previous landlords.
Keep in mind that prior landlords can also have reasons to lie. Give prospective tenants the benefit of the doubt.
Look for a tenant that hasn’t moved a lot and has a good employment history. If they moved often this can suggest that they will not stay long in your property too – which will leave you looking for a new tenant all over. If they have long periods without a job or a history of switching between jobs, it may happen that in the near future they won’t be able to pay the rent. This will cause disputes and problems. After some time, you might even need to deal with eviction – and look for a new tenant once again. Inform yourself about your prospective tenant’s circumstances and ability to pay the rent. They will need to have a monthly income that surpasses the price of the rent at least twice – so, it all goes smoothly. This also should be a person that has a stable job and doesn’t have plans to move in the near future.
As you are probably aware by now, finding a good tenant is a time-consuming and stressful task, so the best thing you can do to avoid this is with a thorough tenant screening process. Another option is to hire a rental property who will take the stress off your hands.
Go through the tenant screening process and give yourself some time to choose the best candidate. It’s not easy to find a tenant that will both fulfill their obligations and care for your property. A right tenant is a person that will respect your property and that has some valuable traits – like respecting your time, not causing any problems in the neighbourhood or causing trouble by secretly bringing additional tenants.
Keep in mind that candidates that look good-on-paper – have a stable income and good references, may not always be the most suitable ones. When choosing the right tenant you should also consider the person’s personality and communication skills. You will often communicate with this person, so it’s best if this is someone who is open and has a positive attitude. This will also helpful in the future, in the case of disputes.
Additionally, you need to rely on your intuition when choosing the right tenant. This should be a person that suits your character too.
Lastly, remember that this will be an exhausting process – you don’t want to give away your property in the hands of a candidate that doesn’t seem reliable just because you want to end the process.
The ideal long-term tenant will stick to all the standards mentioned above. Your property is one of your best assets, so finding the right tenant will help you preserve and increase its value in the future. If this seems like a tiring task for you, consider hiring a rental property manager – and they’ll take care of all the most stressful aspects of hiring a tenant for you.
Periodic property inspections and notifications to owners about the state of their investment make one of the major services property managers provide. Apart from regular move-in and move-out inspections upon tenants’ arrival and leaving, property managers need to carry out a number of routine property visits during the lease term.
Routine property inspections safeguard the overall value of a property. At the most basic level, regular visits help determine whether the tenant is maintaining the property to the expected standard. These visits can also reveal urgent repairs that may be necessary to prevent future large-scale damage. Finally, good property managers will use these regular inspections as an opportunity to identify suggestions for improvements or structural changes that can increase the property’s value in the long run.
Striking the right number of property inspections per year can be tricky.
Checking the property too often might irritate tenants. If they find the number of visits unacceptable it can even drive them away. On the other hand, neglecting the property for a little too long may lead to missing important issues that later result in otherwise preventable high costs.
As a property management company, you need a good policy that will let you strike a balance in the frequency of property visits. Experience usually helps the most in this task, but here are some tips on how often should rental property managers do an inspection.
The last thing you and the owner want is to lose responsible tenants because of mismanaged property inspections. Therefore, making sure you don’t overdo the visits is crucial.
The average frequency of rental property inspections is one at every 16 weeks. In other words, most property managers typically carry out an inspection three times a year.
It’s not an unheard-of practice among property managers to only visit the property once a year. This is usually too risky. If nothing else, quarterly visits stimulate renters to perform a periodical tidying that can benefit the property in itself.
Four times a year is the absolute maximum, though. Inspecting a property more often than quarterly visits isn’t advisable and in many states, including Queensland, it isn’t even allowed.
A good practice is to consider specifying the number of visits in the lease agreement itself.
You can’t have a one-fits-all solution to this dilemma. Every property has different needs and you alone need to decide about the number of visits on a case-by-case basis. Screen the property in the very beginning and determine its needs before writing up the inspection schedule.
A property with expensive appliances and delicate interior design items may require more frequent visits than a basic apartment. The size matters too. While a small property may do well with two visits per year, a luxury four-bedroom house with a pool and a large garden will probably require three to four visits.
Think about the worst-case scenario and brainstorm some issues that may come up that can be prevented by regular inspections. Analyze this first property screening and base your policy on the frequency of visits accordingly.
Don’t base your decision about the frequency of visits on the tenants’ behaviour. A tenant that pays their rent on time and seems generally responsible can do a really poor job in maintaining the space. You’ll be mistaken to assume that regular payments equate overall responsibility and may be in for a surprise and find out poor property management on the tenant’s part.
You should always notify tenants about your visit to their current home for inspection. Tenants are entitled to receive a notification at least 24 or 48 hours before. Good practice on this advises property managers to notify home occupants about one week in advance.
Tenants may be intimidated by the news and feel uncomfortable to be inspected, especially if this hasn’t been spelled out in the lease agreement. Before the first visit, along with a proper notification, property managers should always explain the nature of property visits and everything that a property inspection involves.
Sometimes property managers in communication with the owner may agree on an alternative strategy of communicating inspections with the tenants. In order to reassure tenants, they may choose to tell them that the checks occur for a specific issue, for instance, to check the AC filters. This strategy can backfire and honest communication is best.
After the visit, property managers prepare a written report for the owner. The extent and detail of this report will depend on the depth of services the owner is paying for. The report should usually include photos and the general findings from every routine inspection, noting any urgent maintenance required.
Most quality property managers will also include detailed comments about the current state of the property, as well as more comprehensive feedback and suggestions for property improvements or maintenance that’s advisable to be undertaken in the future.
Property managers should immediately arrange urgent repairs if they deem it necessary upon inspection. How these matters are handled depends on the property management contract with the landlord. In any case, maintenance issues require a prompt reaction and not taking action for too long can lead tenants to feel neglected.
Rental property managers carry out regular property inspections to determine if tenants take proper care of the property in line with the contract, and to check for potential maintenance or safety issues. Regular property inspections can benefit both the owner and the tenants.
Most of the time, property managers should ensure that basic property inspections involve:
Physical presence allows property managers to notice potential maintenance issues, but also to observe the state of repair required. Instead of hearing the information from the tenant, a responsible property manager will assess the extent of the damage and decide accordingly on how best to go about hiring for the repair. This can save owners money.
Paying attention to details is crucial for spotting maintenance issues. Peeling paint, mould under the sink or broken smoke alarms can all lead to serious and costly damages later if not spotted and treated in due course.
Check the electrical circuit and meter. Sometimes, serious hazards can result from a simple malfunctioning or an overloaded circuit – and tenants can sometimes be unaware of these imperceptible issues. Also, watch out for possible excessive use of power that goes beyond usual domestic use.
Have the tenants broken any tenancy rules? For instance, have they sneaked in a pet despite a strict agreement against this? Another common rule non-compliance involves having an extra tenant. Watch out for potential evidence of a new unauthorised occupant that has moved in for longer than a normal guest period. In a more serious scenario that prompts immediate eviction, property managers should watch out for the presence of any drugs or illegal substances.
If there is a specific segment of the interior that requires special care, check how well the tenants have cared for it. Examples include leather sofas or hardwood floors. Have they been maintained according to the given instructions?
In case you discover irregularities, make sure you communicate properly. Avoid reacting angrily and threatening to withhold a part of the deposit. Instead, repeat the instructions and make sure the tenants understand them properly. If there has been some initial miscommunication, the responsibility lies with you.
As per the lease agreement, the tenant has responsibilities with regards to the proper maintenance of the property. Check if the current occupants adequately abide by the terms of the lease. Have they failed to inform you of a major property issue that a timely reaction could have prevented?
Other examples include the pool, lawn and garden maintenance. The lease agreement should specify whether these fall within the tenant’s responsibility. Check for their current state and react accordingly if neglected. Assess the tenants’ explanation and general attitude. You may want to re-negotiate this aspect and hire a professional service yourself.
An important note here:
Keep in mind that there’re people living a regular life in the property. A routine inspection doesn’t mean judging the state of the tenants’ household. They may be tidy, but they also may be messy occupants and either way, it’s their right to be so. Even though tenants should clean their home before an inspection they were properly notified of, they are not expected to remove all signs of daily living. You cannot ask for more tidiness or comment on the state of the property as far as it concerns non-permanent changes that stem from regular daily living.
Sometimes landlords themselves may choose to drive, walk or cycle by their property to quickly check and observe it from the outside. This type of checks is allowed, as long as they don’t enter or go onto the property.
Making sure whether everything looks fine with their investment from the outside can be useful and it’s certainly understandable. However, watch out for the frequency of these visits. It’s best to make sure tenants don’t spot or recognize that a drive-by inspection is being performed. Otherwise, they may feel followed and this can have an adverse effect on the tenant – landlord the relationship.
Most prospective tenants will have their first contact with a property through the photos included in the advertisement. Homeowners tend to invest a lot of effort in preparing their property to go on the market, but then neglect perhaps the most important factor in attracting interested renters – the photos.
No matter how actually attractive your property is, the photos will make it or break it in the eyes of home browsers. In the competitive pool of rentals on offer, professional photos can help your listing stand out. It takes seconds to decide to pass on your home as a potential renter browses through hundreds of listings.
Well done photos essentially help you attract a wider range of potential candidates, thus maximizing your chances to secure good, long-term tenants.
Here’re some tips on how to make the most of your property’s visual presentation that will show you why good photos really pay off when advertising an investment property.
Property owners well know that frugality is important – from the moment you buy your investment up to the point you list it for rent. While in certain aspects you should look for ways to save, this is definitely not the case with the photos you use for advertising your property.
Only high-quality photos can take the maximum out of your property. Real estate agencies confirm that listings with professional photos rent out faster. So, don’t even try to adjust your smartphone’s camera settings, but hire a professional photographer from the outset.
Skilled real estate photographers know how to choose the best features of your home and make them stand out. No details will escape their professional, third-party eye. You may be surprised to find out that a certain angle puts the space in a particularly positive light that you weren’t even aware of.
The other way around applies too: if you wish the photos to highlight a certain strong point of the property, especially if it’s a detail of the likes of a cozy garden spot or a polished sitting area, feel free to communicate these to the photographer.
Before a professional photographer comes to do their magic, the homeowner has some homework to do.
Every little imperfection gets into a photo. Once captured there, it won’t escape the eye of a detail-oriented home browser. To make sure your property leaves a good impression you need to pay attention to several key things.
Thorough cleaning is where the success of home photos starts and ends. You need all your surfaces to be sparkly clean, especially the bathroom and kitchen surfaces.
Walk around your property with fresh eyes and make sure you have removed all items that are cluttering up the home. For instance, ensure there are no shoes in the hallway, no rotting fruit in a fruit bowl, no newspapers or paperwork piled up, nothing on magnets or children’s artwork on the fridge door, no remote controls on the table, and the majority of the kid’s toys.
A rule of thumb when it comes to advertising a home visually to keep in mind: prospective tenants should be able to imagine themselves and their family living in the place as their home. This means that you should supplement the regular preparations with a teeny bit of ‘cozying up’ of the space.
Make sure the interior doesn’t look too sterile and artificial. Add a small number of decorations and details to breathe life into the space. This will increase your home’s emotional appeal and resonate with prospective renters much easier.
Some ideas include alive, green pot plants. Even if you don’t own any, it’s good to invest in one or two for the photos. If you’re using your own plant, make sure it looks clean and healthy. Dust the leaves if it has big leaves, and avoid capturing any yellowish leaves or other signs of low vitality, since this can psychologically generate the opposite effect from the intended livening up of the space.
A nice, tasteful pot can also do wonders for the photos. Apply the same logic to all other areas, including the kitchen and the bathroom. Clean the surfaces from groceries or toiletries, but leave some nice pots or appliances in the photo to avoid emptying the space.
You have less leeway for such adjustments if the property is currently occupied. Depending on the current tenants’ taste and tidiness, this can be an advantage or a drawback. In any case, explain your intentions of photographing the house to your current tenants well in advance and give them enough time to tidy up and prepare the space for photographing.
This is something a good home photographer will point out to you, but you can pay attention too: time the photoshoot well. To capture the space to its greatest advantage you need enough light or, even better, sunshine.
Make sure the photos are made during the time of the day when your property’s main areas are exposed to most light. Similarly, if you can, avoid having the photos taken on cloudy days when there isn’t enough natural light.
If you have to work on less bright days, then the photographer will likely apply professional light. Consider also using floor lamps and ambience lightning to create a better effect.
Try browsing online rental property listings yourself. Observe all the amateur photos showing untidy spaces overcrowded with items and unkempt gardens. Think about what message this sends to potential renters.
Badly done property advertising photos may wrongly imply that the owners neglect their property and pay little attention to maintenance. Such photos can deter responsible tenants who really care about their choice.
On the other hand, in a world of competitive and refined marketing content, quality professional photos will attract high-class tenants that will later ensure optimal rental yields.
You should get photos of a few different rooms including, for instance, the front yard, lounge or the backyard. To create a hype around your property you need a sufficient number of photos, although you should be careful not to overdo it. On average, about 6 to 10 photos is enough.
Don’t brush off video as an option. This especially applies to newly-renovated and more luxurious properties. Photos and videos make your property much more sharable on social media – social media algorithms like video. A good video will be bound to attract a lot of traffic around your property.
Most professional real estate photographers determine their prices based on how many rooms they should photograph. The price can vary from about $90 for smaller properties, up to about $130 for a larger home with more rooms.
The photographer may offer a fixed-price standard package that includes a certain number of photos for a predetermined price.
This all applies to the basic services. Photographers can also offer more sophisticated services, such as digitally intervening in the photo to remove clutter or, the opposite, called virtual staging, meaning they add furniture digitally into your empty property. Needless to say, these are paid a much higher price.
Another reason why investing a little extra in a professional photographer can pay off in the future: you can reuse the photos later. If the owner has made no major changes in the interior design, photos can be reused when renting the property again or later, when selling.
If current occupants refuse to have their belongings captured in a photo, which often happens, you will have a ready batch of representative, quality photos waiting to get your property rented fast once again.
An experienced rental property manager will have no trouble finding a good tenant candidate for your property. They have spent years in the industry so they know exactly what to expect and how to recognise long-term tenants that will regularly pay their rent and respect agreements terms. Experience in the field, exceptional communication skills, and highly-developed tenant screening methods are just a few of the things that give them the ability and competence to recognise the trustworthy tenants among many.
Below we’ll present you with a number of reasons why experience counts in rental property management.
Well, “know your audience” is a golden rule in marketing and rental property managers are constantly focused on getting to know their clients’ needs and finding ways to meet them. Aside from knowing their prospective tenants’ needs and wishes they also know how to distinguish between a number of tenants – and find the reliable and stable ones that will sign long-term deals, stick to them and respect landlord’s rules. Rental property managers choose good tenants because they have an established set of tenant screening methods that easily scan the prospective tenant personality and behaviour.
Aside from that, their experience in the field is of vital importance when choosing tenants. They have spent years in the business so they made mistakes and learned from them, they have many colleagues with which they can exchange opinions and ways to deal with tenant-associated problems. A rental property manager’s job is to basically develop comprehensive strategies that will pick out reliable long-term tenants while at the same time raise the property’s visibility and find ways to increase its value.
It goes without saying, that without effective marketing techniques it will be hard to find any prospective tenants, let alone good tenants. The most experienced rental property managers use all marketing techniques at their disposal to raise the visibility of their client’s properties – from social media posts, platforms, apps, and content marketing to SEO strategies and community building.
They have the ability to craft exceptional rental descriptions that stick in prospective tenants’ minds and they know the power of constantly posting compelling photos of properties on social media accounts.
They promote properties in various ways in which landlords are rarely that knowledgeable and effective. Aside from knowing how to use the full potential of digital marketing and navigating social media accounts in a way in which they will constantly attract new clients, rental property managers also know the importance of “old school” marketing tools. Word-of-mouth and face-to-face communication still remain techniques of vital importance in the real estate business.
Professionals know the importance of being engaged and recognised in the community. They have colleagues with which they can exchange experience of vital tenant issues, they are friends with landlords and often personally know people that are looking to rent properties. People recognise them as an authority in the field so they turn to them whenever they are looking for answers on real estate topics.
In the areas where they promote properties, they constantly mingle among residents and property owners so they know the vital needs of habitants living in that particular area. By being aware of those needs, they know how to promote properties in a way in which prospective tenants can more easily imagine themselves living in the presented property and by doing that they are a step closer to getting a rental deal.
To cut a long story short – rental property managers don’t have the luxury to mess around!
While landlords have daily jobs, family responsibilities and numerous urgent duties aside from screening tenants, rental property managers’ main focus during their working hours is finding ideal long-term tenants. Pressured by time and lacking an established method for screening puts landlords in a situation where they choose any tenant just to lessen vacancies and put an end to the never-ending prospective tenant’s calls and emails.
While landlords experience choosing tenants for their properties as a duty that needs to be endured – rental property managers see tenant screening as a field in which they can prove themselves. Their chances to choose good tenants are much higher because their motivations can not only contribute to their clients but to the prospects of their own career too.
Well-presented properties get higher rents because they suggest to tenants that by renting the property they will find a space where they can lead the lifestyle they’ve always wanted. Crafting captivating property descriptions and posting inviting photos from your investment can help you have shorter vacancies and maximize your return on investment (ROI).
You should be aware that to get higher rent, the first thing you should be able to do is get your prospective tenant’s attention. While your property might offer impressive features, simply calling out your investment’s strengths doesn’t tell tenants why they should rent your property.
When listing photos from your apartment, prospective tenants should be able to imagine themselves there being content and comfortable. But, it goes further than just posting compelling images of your property looking inviting and liveable – you need to create an exceptional story around your property to increase its value.
So, how should you do that? Read on to learn the top tips on how to get higher rent by raising your property’s visibility.
Who is the ideal tenant for your property? We are not talking only for the long-term tenant that will regularly pay the rent, won’t throw parties and will keep the property clean. Do you find your property most suitable for students, young couples or growing families? Or, maybe you are renting it to tourists? This is very important because when crafting your investment property description it should speak exactly to that same audience you are planning to attract.
Add to that a tenant-centric view of everything you present about your property – and that goes for both descriptions and photos. Does your tenant target group consist of people that will be attracted by a serious tone or one that’s more fun and playful?
Will they be interested in the proximity of amenities or are they much more likely to want to learn about the nightlife in the area? Are they looking for a quiet and peaceful getaway or a hub that will support their socially engaged lifestyle?
Determine what is the tenant target group that is likely to find your investment property attractive and that also suits your personality as a landlord. Then tailor your messaging to suit their needs so that you attract the right tenant.
Focus on your tenant, not on what your investment represents to you. Your tenant is quite unlikely to share your vision about the quality of life your property offers. No matter the time, effort, and money you invested in the renovation, decoration and social media marketing of your investment when seeing a photo of your apartment tenants will notice only a small proportion of that.
But what will constantly go through their minds is: Can I imagine myself living here? Will this apartment gave me the opportunity to live in the way I have always imagined? Think about the neighbourhood, the city, and the entire area in which your property is located.
Tenants are not looking only for an affordable and livable apartment – they are also looking for a place that will satisfy a variety of their personal needs. This can mean many different things, depending on your tenant target group. If this is a growing family, tenants will be interested in the closeness of schools, supermarkets, shopping centres and the connection to amenities. If you are renting your apartment to students, they will probably be interested in nightlife spots, recreation centres and a connection to their university.
So, the smart thing to do is anticipate these questions and provide your prospective tenants with them before they even ask – by doing this you will be one step closer to renting your property. Make sure to give the answers to these questions in your property’s description – your chances of finding tenants will drop if you provide clients only with pieces of information about the number of rooms and the rental price of your property.
But, don’t stop there. Prospective tenants will screen your description, look for keywords but even if they all fit their needs in terms of price, proximity to amenities and the area’s lifestyle – this will not be enough. There will probably be a number of other properties that will also satisfy these key features.
A good story can set your property apart, even if it can’t compete with others in terms of comforts and luxury. Your rental description should suggest to your prospective tenants that renting your property will impact their daily living in several ways that will contribute to the quality of their lives.
If you succeed in painting a picture in your prospective tenant’s minds that they will find the longed-for lifestyle in your property – it’s much more likely that they will consider renting it. Even if the rent is higher compared to similar properties!
The rental property manager’s job is to basically sell the story of your property. Yes, they manage finances, rental payments, and legal notices, but their vital asset is that they have the tools, resources and, most importantly, the imagination to attract the ideal tenants. Experienced and professional rental property managers will recognize the potential of your property and take it a step further. They have an established set of tenant screening methods that will easily distinguish the most suitable tenants from a number of prospective candidates.
You should consider hiring a rental property manager because they are capable of undertaking vital steps in terms of maximizing your return of investment. Yes, you will pay them a fee, but that will not only be worthwhile, considering the amount of time and effort that you will need in order to establish a property that is well presented, but it can also increase the value of your property in the long-run.
What’s more, rental property managers’ marketing techniques and tools which include applications, platforms, and engaging social media posts can create a well-presented investment property that will easily get higher rent. If your ultimate wish for your investment property is to get a higher rent while attracting long-term tenants at the same time, you should definitely consider hiring a professional that has the experience, the tools, and the competence to do it.
Invested in property on the Gold Coast and want to sit back and watch your wealth grow? The only step you need to take is to put your property in the right hands and find a good property manager.
This person is of vital importance for the future of your investment so you should look carefully. The visibility of your investment, its value, and its future can be completely turned around with the right manager behind it. A good property manager will work in your best interests, take off the stress and do the job for you while preserving and incrеasing the value of your property.
Of course, taking care of your investment by yourself is always an option, but it takes a lot of time, effort and knowledge. If taking care of your property, while going on with your daily life at the same time seems like you bit off more than you can chew, the right professional can pull everything up in a shorter time and with much better results.
So, if you are up to learning how to find the right man to finish the job for you, keep on reading. Here are some tips on how to choose a good property manager on the Gold Coast.
Use all the advantages of the internet to pick the right property manager. Within half an hour, you will find plenty of reviews and comments from investors who’ve had good experiences with property managers on the Gold Coast.
Don’t stick to the company websites – you need to bring your research a little bit further to get to the proper pieces of information. Remember that companies have control over the reviews on their web pages. However, company websites will provide you with valuable insight into the level of professionalism they have with their clients.
Search for posts where companies are tagged, research review websites and social media. Clients usually post on the internet when they’ve experienced awful service, so you will easily get a picture of which property managers on the Gold Coast are not dependable.
Aside from bad reviews, keep in mind that it’s also helpful to read good reviews and compare them. It’s not enough to find a property manager that can merely provide you with professional service – they need to have working experience in the area where your property is located and, ideally, management experience with the type of real estate you possess.
Like in many other areas of your life, here too you’ll sometimes have to rely on word of mouth. When people have a bad experience with a company or a service, they’re usually pretty vocal about it. Client feedback is actually the most important investigation that you should undertake before deciding who is the right property manager for you.
And it’s not that hard of a job. Talk with friends, neighbours, owners, and investors on the Gold Coast. They will share their experience and the experience of their acquaintances – and you’ll be surprised at the amount of useful information you can learn over lunch.
Don’t get easily seduced by large brand names. Yes, big agencies have a number of professionals at their disposal, but that doesn’t immediately mean that you will get the most experienced one.
Always ask your property manager how many years they’ve spent in the business and whether they have experience managing the type of real estate you’re dabbling in, and in which area on the Gold Coast they have managed properties.
These questions are always a good start – they’ll give you an idea of the portfolio of the property manager you’re dealing with. A good manager must have years of experience, a high level of skills and an individual approach to real estate.
However, keep in mind that if someone is new in the business, that doesn’t immediately mean that they’re not on the ball. New property managers can sometimes contribute much more to your investment with their enthusiasm and determination. Don’t neglect a novice the moment you meet them, because their zest and initiative may be the exact thing your investment needs to score high.
Experienced and well-known property managers may have a number of proposals at their hands and will not put their complete focus and attention on your property. What you don’t need is an overwhelmed manager that doesn’t have time for personalized service. When choosing between an experienced and inexperienced property manager you need to use your intuition.
Let their behaviour, professionalism, and personality guide your decision.
Actions speak louder than words.
A property manager or a company may look professional on their website but lack the proper attitude in real life, which is where the real deals are going to be negotiated.
Good property managers should possess a number of professional qualities and communication skills as well as admirable personal traits. First and foremost, let’s talk about the importance of a first impression.
Your manager will have to maintain and keep your property attractive, so in order to do that properly, they’ll need to maintain a degree of professionalism in their wardrobe choices. This is the first thing that will boost credibility and present authority in front of potential clients. When interviewing your future property manager, ask for their background and education. To preserve and increase the value of your real estate the manager will have to be able to provide some valuable insights into the business they’re dealing with.
However, keep in mind that a highly knowledgeable manager that lacks verbal communication won’t be of much use. Remember that communication is the core competence that a manager should possess. This is the person with whom you’ll be communicating constantly, so look for someone who has a positive attitude. This trait will surely contribute to minimizing your stress during the whole process and impressing potential clients. Look for a person that has a can-do attitude and maintains the spirit even in periods of low business and disputes with tenants.
Additionally, you are looking for a highly organized person and a forward thinker that sees opportunities in places where others see trouble.
We'll give you a quick call to discuss your needs and schedule a convenient time to perform an appraisal.
You can also call us any time on 1300 430 929 to book an appraisal or for answers to any of your real estate related questions.
Request Your Free Property Appraisal