I am in the situation of not having any descent PM's in the area (they will claim differently ) I am not with the worst I have had but confidence has fallen from fair to very low - does not seem to be repair/maintenance oriented or experienced in dealing with tradies, in other words NFI ......running a business of which this is half of what is required in knowledge and experience.
Many people on here fully or partly self manage, may use use an agent just to find tenants or have a suitable friend show interested parties through and do inspections ...but do the rest themselves.
I am interested in hearing from those owners (and input from PM's) who have a PM in the normal sense but are very hands on therefore do a lot of the things an agent would normally do and be included in management fee.
That would generally be those who live out of the area and have no choice - need to rely on a PM to find tenants, collect rent, do inspections, deal with any tenancy issues, but look after most other matters themselves because it is easier, quicker and less hassle than chasing up the PM to organise, sort out their stuff ups, or be out of pocket due to PM's incompetence.
The other matters:
Repairs and maintenance - organise themselves but may need recommendations from PM on who to contact (to start with), if agent has any they can refer who has provide insurance details. May also need agent to put tradie in contact with owner to discuss rather than owner contacting direct ....... might get better service if going through agent rather than direct as an unknown private person. Owner otherwise deals with tradie for better communication, minimising misunderstandings caused by using agent as 3rd party. May only need agent to confirm work has been done.
Rates, insurance, insuarance claims etc - owner looks after, agent only needs to recover tenants water usage charge ....(owner forwards copy of statement with tenants amount highlighted and clearly stated.)
Other issues such as council, neighbouring property/tenant - owner to look after, only needing support from agent if required.
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In the past I have looked after (arranged or did myself on visits) most of the maintenance, and been proactive rather than reactive. Of the few things I have asked agents to arrange which may not be straight forward (ie water leak) I have often given very detailed info to pass on to tradie (to assist understanding of the problem and save agent having to try and understand/interpret). I have found agents usually ignore, feeling it is not necessary because they don't have the knowledge or experience to appreciate it's value ....and then problems occur! Therefore I am feeling I may as well deal with tradies direct..
I am also thinking of having some direct contact with tenant - many pros and cons with this.
Pros:
Cons:
So, what are peoples experience with being more directly involved to minimise problems caused by agents, but not able to fully self manage due to being interstate or out of the area. I expect it should not take me any more time than I am already spending, and at a small cost in extra phone calls. And what reduction in management fees would be appropriate, although the main objective here is to minimise problems and stuff ups which cost me money, not PM fees?
.
Many people on here fully or partly self manage, may use use an agent just to find tenants or have a suitable friend show interested parties through and do inspections ...but do the rest themselves.
I am interested in hearing from those owners (and input from PM's) who have a PM in the normal sense but are very hands on therefore do a lot of the things an agent would normally do and be included in management fee.
That would generally be those who live out of the area and have no choice - need to rely on a PM to find tenants, collect rent, do inspections, deal with any tenancy issues, but look after most other matters themselves because it is easier, quicker and less hassle than chasing up the PM to organise, sort out their stuff ups, or be out of pocket due to PM's incompetence.
The other matters:
Repairs and maintenance - organise themselves but may need recommendations from PM on who to contact (to start with), if agent has any they can refer who has provide insurance details. May also need agent to put tradie in contact with owner to discuss rather than owner contacting direct ....... might get better service if going through agent rather than direct as an unknown private person. Owner otherwise deals with tradie for better communication, minimising misunderstandings caused by using agent as 3rd party. May only need agent to confirm work has been done.
Rates, insurance, insuarance claims etc - owner looks after, agent only needs to recover tenants water usage charge ....(owner forwards copy of statement with tenants amount highlighted and clearly stated.)
Other issues such as council, neighbouring property/tenant - owner to look after, only needing support from agent if required.
------
In the past I have looked after (arranged or did myself on visits) most of the maintenance, and been proactive rather than reactive. Of the few things I have asked agents to arrange which may not be straight forward (ie water leak) I have often given very detailed info to pass on to tradie (to assist understanding of the problem and save agent having to try and understand/interpret). I have found agents usually ignore, feeling it is not necessary because they don't have the knowledge or experience to appreciate it's value ....and then problems occur! Therefore I am feeling I may as well deal with tradies direct..
I am also thinking of having some direct contact with tenant - many pros and cons with this.
Pros:
- Eliminate any assumption by tenant .....that owner may not care, and that all actions by agent is as a result of their empowerment, not from owner involvement.
- If agent is slack in doing anything, tenant is aware of this and is not due to owners lack of caring.
- May result in tenant having a better attitude.
Cons:
- Reduces the opportunity to have agent be "interference" when required, such as to stall on any issue.
- Tenant may feel it is easier to ask for something that they would not normally bother, therefore more demands could be placed on owner (but can also lead to better relationship at minimal/no cost)
- Tenant has the opportunity to "measure" owner and may take advantage, whereas they would not know otherwise if owner is a walkover or an ar#*ole. My first tenant did meet me initially, and later took advantage.
So, what are peoples experience with being more directly involved to minimise problems caused by agents, but not able to fully self manage due to being interstate or out of the area. I expect it should not take me any more time than I am already spending, and at a small cost in extra phone calls. And what reduction in management fees would be appropriate, although the main objective here is to minimise problems and stuff ups which cost me money, not PM fees?
.