Hi all. New to the forum and as a landlord.

Was not sure where to put this so here it is. Just an introduction and a bit of a blurb on how I got here.

Earlier this year we decided to go to a larger house as the house we where in was 14 square and getting smaller by the day. Initially we where going to sell the other property but I had a brain flash and decided to keep and rent out. We live in Seymour, Victoria and the rental market is very tight. Around 10 - 20 applications for any property that comes up with around a 6% - 7% return for decent houses, a little less for flats and older run downs. We are currently getting 6.5% which I think is not bad ? It took a while to convince the missus that we would not be paying the mortgage on the rental that someone else would be but after she agreed it was easy. We moved out and 2 days later the tenants moved in.

I have heard some say that this is a nightmare to do this sort of thing but so far it has been a breeze (touch wood). We lived in the house for 8 years and we have some attachment to it and it is pleasing to see the tenants looking after it.

Do most people here go through a property manager ? we decided to go through a PM first up as it was all very alien to us. Seem to pay out a lot of money to them and wondering the value ?

Anyway I will leave it at that and ask some more questions later. I also have a bit of reading to do on here !

Chris.
 

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Hi :D

I'm an 'accidental landlord' getting over 20% yield on a place in the middle of woop-woop rented out to some pensioners, so don't ask me about these low-yielding places lol

No PM, probably never will. Its not worth it on a cheapie. But for something that's actually worth something and you want to stay at arm's length, PMs are good.
 
Welcome to the forum.

I use a PM for my cheapie - it gets $265 a week. I don't mind paying the tax deductable $20 a week to not have to worry about it. At the same time, I can see how it would be pretty easy to do myself.

Cheers

Jamie
 
If you have a good PM AND good tenants, you may never know the value that a PM gives. A PM does more than just collect the rent. IMHO they are invaluable, especially if you are a newbie investor.

I have more than a couple of IPs and have always used a PM. I would not consider "going it alone." If a tenant does the wrong thing, a PM is there to get them into line. Most of the time all it takes is the PM getting on their case a bit, but there are times that the PM has to get tough.

If you are doing it yourself, you not only need to educate yourself in regards to keeping everything above board and legal, you also need to be self motivated enough to keep tabs of where the tenant is rentwise and have the time to chase them if/when they are in arrears or do damage. Many self-managing landlords also find it hard to keep a longterm tenant up to market rent, whereas if you use a PM, if they are good, they will just tell you that the rents have gone up, and do it all for you. There is no personal attachment, especially if the tenant trys to tell you a hard luck story. Using a PM keeps everything in a "business-like" relationship.
 
...

Do most people here go through a property manager ? we decided to go through a PM first up as it was all very alien to us. Seem to pay out a lot of money to them and wondering the value ?

...
Chris.

If you have only one IP and live near the IP then cost of having a PM may seem unnecessary. If you have more IPs then on occasion you will find a PM useful in deflecting chores like urgent plumbing needs and awkward harassing tenants. Free you up to do your own thing and be away when you like it. But congratulation on starting out as a landlord. :)
 
Do you need a PM?

Are you fully aware of all rules and regulations regarding tenancies? And aware these change regularly?

Are you anal enough to keep up with all the necessary paperwork?

Do you object to getting a phone call at 2am when the water pipe bursts?

Do you intend to go away on holidays at all in the next xxx years? If so, do you have a reliable person you trust to take over the property management - and who is prepared to do so?

Are you mentally tough enough to evict a tenant who gets behind in the rent - when her husband is in hospital after a serious accident and there are 3 young children involved?

Afterwards, are you prepared to see yourself named and depicted as a "heartless landlord" on the current affairs shows?

Answer yes to all of these and, with reasonable luck with tenant selection, you will be fine.
Marg
 
Hey musashi,
A couple of links that might help you with determining whether you need a PM or not. Obviously, coming from PMs they might be a little self-serving, but it should get you thinking.

http://www.help-u-rent.net/PropertyManagement.shtml
http://www.allpropertymanagement.com/faq/10-reasons-to-hire-a-property-manager_p41.html
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=2142957
http://cleveland.ardaus.com/115-5-reasons-to-hire-a-property-manager.html

I went to a "how to be a landlord" session recently sponsored by the local council and run by Consumer Affairs Victoria. Just reinforced to me why I have a PM. The legal side of things was what particularly put me off - it's not just collecting the rent and getting the maintenance done. You also need all the correct legal paperwork in place.

The CA rep emphasised that the law is in favour of tenants, so as landlords it's critical to "do things right".

The other thing about a PM is that they have access to the tenant default database (os something) so it's more likely that if they are doing their job properly, the tenants you DO get should be of a suitable standard.

Having said all that, a PM also suits my personality. Others LOVE managing their own property(s).

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Hey Chris welcome to the forum.

Regarding PMs, one insurance company specialising in land lords insurance will not insure any property which is not professionally managed. I'm sure they have their reasons.

Craig ;)
 
Just to balance things up, I started self managing over 30 years ago and have had very few problems. We don't hold many IPs but there are plenty of horror stories about slack property managers so don't think you can "set and forget". Sometimes I think some people would be better off managing their own places (if they are local).

I have never had a problem getting landlord cover but some companies will not cover me. Plenty will.
 
Regarding PMs, one insurance company specialising in land lords insurance will not insure any property which is not professionally managed. I'm sure they have their reasons.

Terri Scheer Landlord insurance is one of them.

agreed with marg4000

KK
____________________________
Trust your hopes, not your fears.
 
I have 2 investment properties in Melbourne and went with 2 property managers, both charged 5% commission. The costs are tax deductible and it means less stress for me.

Do you really want to be doing open inspections when the property needs to be released as well as managing the rent collection and repairs?

I work full time so prefer to have a PM.
 
Thanks for the replies all. My mate who put me onto this site said you were all a great bunch and willing to help. He was right.

I work full time as well and so I suppose I don't really have the time or inclination to do it myself. Maybe when I get 8 or 10 properties and I don't have to work I will do it myself LOL.

The commission I get charged is a little high at 8 % but we don't have much choice here. Next renewal I will negotiate I think.

When shopping around for landlords insurance that was one of the questions that the did NOT ask me. I will be checking up on that to make sure.

thanks again
Chris.
 
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