Archive for the 'Property Management' Category

7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Choosing a Property Manager

Published on October 13, 2008 in General and Property Management. 0 Comments

You have decided to hire a property manager to rent out the property that you have. It could be a vacation home, commercial lot or a second home that you have decided you will be better off renting or leasing than selling. Well you need to watch out, because you may be surprised to know you may be making the wrong choice.

Many property managers today are not professionals. They may have management experience, but not with your type of property; or they may take the job less than seriously; or they may farm out the task of caring for your property to another person, especially if they manage many different properties. How can you be certain that your property manager is the right one for you?

You can begin by looking out for these 7 problems that are common among property managers.

1. NO COMMUNICATION: You should ask for references from each person that you are considering as a property manager and then check with the references on their communication skills. A property manager who doesn’t contact you at the end beginning of any rental period or at least a few times throughout the year, will probably end up costing you more time and money than if you managed the property on your own.

2. LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY: Is your property manager bonded? Does he or she have a professional reputation to maintain – for instance, is he or she a licensed realtor or other real estate professional? If your new property manager has nothing to lose, then they have no incentive to manage your property well.

3. OVER-PROMISING: You need to watch out here. Most property managers will usually have a standard of things they do. Is your potential property manager making promises that are way outside what the others offer? This is not a good sign as they are promising things just to try and get the job.

4. ARE YOU A PERSON OR A NUMBER: When you use a property management company you don’t know who will be managing your property, because they don’t guarantee that a specific person will handle your account. So when you need to speak with someone you get passed back and forth from person to person and they never ask your name, it’s always your account number. You will find that it is better to have a single property manager or a company that is small with a small clientele, this way you will be sure that your property receives the attention needed.

5. LACK OF EXPERIENCE OR EXPERTISE: You should make sure to select a property manager that specialises in the type of property that you are listing. They should also have a good record when it comes to property management, both their own properties and other people’s.

6. LACK OF RESPECT FOR YOU, THE CLIENT, OR THE TENANTS: This goes along with treating you like a number, but it’s a little different. Do you get the impression that your prospective property manager will treat you with the respect you deserve? If they don’t respect you, they won’t respect your clients. One way to tell: do they allow you to ask all the questions you want, and treat each one as an important topic?

7. COMPLACENCY WITH TENANTS AND YOUR PROPERTY’S MAINTENANCE: You really want a property manager that will be not just active, but proactive, when renting your property and caring for it. Ask about their vacancy percentage and their turnover rate. Both numbers should be very low.

Always screen each of your property managers for all these issues. You need a good proactive, experienced, professional property manager who will treat your property as his or her own, keep in regular close detailed contact with you, and always treat you as a partner. In the long run, your excellent property manager will increase your rents while saving you time and stress, turning your property into a real asset instead of the liability it could be with the wrong choice of property manager.

If you want proactive Property Management now, click here to contact the specialists at In House Property Management for a no obligation quote.

Proactive Property Management: Watch Your Property Value Grow

Published on September 29, 2008 in Investment Strategy and Property Management. 0 Comments

Your clock registered 3:15 a.m. The phone is ringing and you scramble to wakefulness desperately searching blindly for the receiver. Surely, it is something terrible for anyone to call at this late hour. The voice on the other end of the phone is your tenant complaining, no whining, and no squeaking about a possible home invasion by something big, furry, and possibly canine in origin. Then again, it might just be the rental property settling on a windy night. She’s not sure. She has barricaded herself in her bathroom, dragging the cordless phone with her, and she has called you. You begin to question the value of buying real estate rental properties.

If you are a landlord, this scenario probably seems familiar. Thousands of people across the country get involved with real estate and choose to manage it themselves only to find they burn out very quickly. Many of those eager property buyers had no idea the amount of time and expertise that it takes to efficiently manage a property.

There are a plethora of unexpected problems that can burn out a novice faster than a flash flood can take out a house. Making money in real estate is more than what’s listed in brochures and presented in seminars. Selection of appropriate tenants requires a good deal of expertise, and it is at the heart of rental success. What makes a good property manager is knowing when to ask the right questions, having the correct forms to fill out and to get as much information as possible from the prospective tenant. If there’s going to be a mistake that gets you Sam and his college pals, this is when it’s going to happen. These mistakes can cost a property manager thousands of dollars in lost time and materials yearly.

For example, in Queensland, Australia in 2006, 63.7% of the disputes filed by tenants involve properties that were managed by property owners. Surprisingly, property owners counted for only 12.7% of the market share, and this 12.7% was involved in nearly 2/3 of the disputes filed. Of the other 87.3% of the properties, these were managed by property managers and not the owners. In these cases, only 36.3% of the disputes were filed. Saved legal fees alone could wind up paying for a decent property manager and the stress and headache of trying to do-it-yourself would be eliminated.

Maintaining excellent communication has proven to be essential in effectively managing rental properties. Keeping tenants happy comes down to good communication and reducing misunderstandings that could lead to disputes if left unattended. Preventing high turnover rates and maintaining only a high quality of tenants comes down to making scheduled visits for upkeep and avoiding sudden disasters before they occur.

Disasters in properties tend to take up all of the landlord’s attention and they seldom happen at a time when it’s convenient. As a result, property owners will invest great sums of money with little regard to the income that’s being produced from the property. Vacations and holidays disappear in the maelstrom of repairs and crises.

The ever-changing landscape of tenant law and tax law create new reading materials and record keeping nightmares for the average landlord. A mistake in these areas cost thousands of dollars in fees, fines and penalties.

Many people realise after a few bad experiences that the knowledge of a good property manager gets rid of the bulk of their frustrations and will save them a significant amount of money in the long run. Property managers who plan, execute and maintain a building, communicate on a regular basis with the tenants and provide lower upkeep costs and a better selection of tenants. Good property managers will take a proactive approach to maintaining and dealing with problems which reduces costs overall.  When a landlord relinquishes control into the hands of a person skilled in property management, record keeping is no longer an issue and the property owner can get on with his life confident that problems and decisions will be solved in a timely manner.

There are a number of qualities to look for when shopping around for a property manager. A veteran property manager will have a good knowledge of the changes being made in real estate law. They will be able to interpret the complex rental rules and regulations. They will communicate with both parties on a regular basis – property owner and tenant. Sudden repairs as well as long term maintenance will be handled and a step-by-step plan will be implemented for scheduled maintenance and inspection to eliminate high repair costs later on. Good property managers return phone calls efficiently, and are proficient at handling arrearage in a way that is both professional and effective.

Professional property managers tend to operate in a manner that generates a comfortable workload, reducing heavier workloads by increasing efficiency levels and maintaining a balance. It is important to get enough property managers to handle the number of properties you have: 85-110 properties per manager is about average before levels decrease.

If you want proactive Property Management now, contact the specialists at In House Property Management for a no obligation quote.

How to Select an Expert at Property Management

Published on August 15, 2008 in Investment Strategy, Property Finance, Property Management and Property Research. 0 Comments

If you own property, and that property happens to be in Brisbane, Australia, you need to ensure that you look carefully at hiring an expert to manage the property on your behalf.

Don’t forget, the reason you bought the property in the first place was as an investment, not as a headache and once you have discovered a good property manager you can rest assured that things will run smoothly.  It’s simply not possible for you to keep your eye on everything all of the time so by finding the right person to do the job for you, you are going to have peace of mind about your property being properly looked after.

When you begin your search for a property manager you will more than likely have many candidates interested in the job.  Your main problem is finding the right person and when you have listened to all the nightmares people have experienced by taking on the wrong property manager, you will realize just how important this really is.

Whether you own many properties or just a few, finding the right property manager will determine exactly how healthy and affluent your investments will be and stop the whole venture from becoming a weight around your neck.

One of the most important skills of a good property manager is excellent communications.  The person you choose will be the one who represents you with your tenants and, of course, you will want this to be done in a fair manner.  Bearing this in mind, your property manager should always be more than willing to talk to either you or your tenants in order to sort out problems before they escalate into disasters.  These are just some of the reasons that someone accomplished in communications is essential for the job.

The ideal property manager will also have an eye for detail.  They will be dealing with receipts and records and at a moments notice need to be able to inform you of everything that is going on as far as your properties are concerned.

In your search for a property manager, it is worth remembering that you will require someone who is fully conversant with Queensland’s rental laws, as these are known to be particularly complex. If the person you choose can easily interpret such rules, it will be very handy for you indeed.

An expert debater and solution finding person is what you are looking for so you can be confident that few problems will arise, and in cases where they do, the situation will be handled efficiently and professionally, immediately preventing the state of affairs from spiraling out of control.

Don’t make the huge mistake made by many.   Remember to look for and find the right property manager who will be capable of taking care of any problems concerning your properties swiftly and easily.

Contact us now for help developing your real estate investments asap.

Investment House Blog Launched!

Published on March 2, 2008 in Case Studies, Construction, General, Investment Strategy, Property Finance, Property Management and Property Research. 0 Comments

Brisbane-based Real Estate Development experts Investment House are pleased to announce the launch of this Construction and Property Management blog.

Over the coming weeks and months we will keep you informed with investor advice and information to help you avoid the pitfalls of property investment.

Contact us now for help developing your real estate investments asap.