1st time choosing PM dilemma.....very nervous

[nbirk]

Hi all.

This is my very first post on here and so I`d like to first of all describe to you where I`m at and then on to my problem.

I have a property of which I will be renting out in the next few weeks. This property is in a small town in Port Stephens, NSW. I have never been a landlord before and I must admit, that I am very very nervous and almost worried about the whole affair. The only reason that I will be doing this is because even though we have made quite a few improvements on the house, most agents think that I`d be lucky to make my money back since I bought it last year. And I have a transfer for work coming through which takes me out of the area.

Now with all this in mind, there are really only 2 real estates in my town. We signed up with the one we bought the house from. Basically because they seemed to return all phone calls when needed to, and were right on top of things when it came to service, whereas the other company sometimes took days to return phone calls which really annoyed me.

Now we signed up with this PM last week. Within half an hour they had someone interested and they inspected the property in the afternoon. We haven`t heard a peep from this agent ever since. I am of the opinion that they could be signing this guy up to a lease without getting my permission....despite telling me that I have the final word as to who gets the lease. No other prospective tenants have had a look at the property either.

Well I spoke to a guy at work yesterday who has used this same company over 2 1/12 years ago and he said that they used to just put whoever they wanted in there. Also, if the tenant was late paying a bill, the PM would take their side and was too soft and understanding. Obviously I won`t tolerate anyone who takes the softly softly approach. This guy at work also said that the other company is a much better choice when it came to chasing up tenants.

This has now got me all worried and losing sleep. Should I be worried? I`m tempted to simply change PM`s right now, before any tenant is put in place. Can I change PM`s whilst waiting for the 30 days written notice? Can a PM put whoever they want in the house without my approval? Should I be listening to just hearsay...I am really so confused. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I don`t want to be stung in the future. I guess I can always change PM`s if the tenant is in place. Any experiences or advice that anyone could give me please?

Thanks in advance

 

[alplant]

Ok, I'll take a shot at answering you. I am a little confused at why you should automatically assume that the PM is signing up a tenant without consulting you. Maybe the tenant just found something else. I really don't know if you can change PM's so soon but why don't you at least give them a chance to stuff up first. You say that there are only two RE's in town so if you jump ship now to the other one and that turns out to be a dud, well you get the picture.

Lastly, no, I don't think you should be putting too much faith in hearsay. You don't know the history behind this fellow's complaints, or at least you only know his side of it. Check your lease and you will probably find something there about how much notice you have to give to your PM to cancel the arrangement you have with them. I am in Queensland and have changed PM's with tenants in place. I don't know about NSW but I doubt it would be any different there if you need to change somewhere down the track.

Edited .. I just noticed that you have checked your lease and you have to give 30 days notice. We have cancelled a lease without the full notice but the agent concerned had made some pretty serious errors so we had cause. It doesn't sound like you have cause to me, unless you find out that the PM is signing up this guy without your approval. That might be different.

 

[jasper]

Instead of getting worried about what the PM 'might' be doing ring and ask! No point pressing the panic button until you know. Make it clear to him/her your expectations of the level of communication and involvement that you want.
Try not to worry. It can be very scary with your first IP but try to relax or you will end up making it an absolute disaster for yourself.

 

[boomtown]

They probably did have someone interested that was looking at 5 properties and is moving in somewhere else.

I think you are probably worrying about nothing at this stage.

 

[Ausprop]

you should be concerned... PMs are on the whole a useless bunch that have little regard for your interests. They are generally underpaid and overworked and thus lookign for a path of least resistance. Of course there are exceptions, off the top of my head I can't think of any tho