how IP managers find new tenants?

[chris01]

Our IP manager does open house for potential new tenants only, and if a person turns up at their office they would tell him/her go to the house on such and such day. Basically they indirectly turn away people because if the person cannot go to see the house then he/she would go to another real estate agent.

I'm not sure how other Real Estate operate. I would appreciate it if anyone here can provide me some info. Thanks.

 

[Burbs]

Hi Chris. Such practice is fairly normal. I have designed my agencies procedures to lease properties as fast as is practicable. The process is viewings twice a week every week until leased. Wednesdays and Saturdays. That way no one is ever more than three days away from a viewing. If you are a property manager and ever have more than a token 1-2 vacant properties at any one time, you have to run this way. Resi tenants are notorious for no shows at viewings. The mechanics are something like this - 50 phone or email enquiries = 30 potential tenants saying they are interested and wish to view the property = 15 actually show up to the open = 10 say they like it and will apply and take an application form = 4 actually apply = 3 proceed to application checking as 1 changed their mind already = 2 of the 3 are fraudulent or bad in some way = 1 suitable applicant gets approved. In saying all that, if we actually have a STRONG walk in applicant we will probably do a viewing by appointment if the probably has been vacant for more than 2 weeks, but even then around half of the walk in applicants simply dont show for that viewing. Hope that all makes sense. Regards, burbs.

 

[chris01]

They didn't show up because they had found a house elsewhere. They usually contact multiple real estate offices at the same time. Why should they have another day off while they can find a house from another RE?

 

[Burbs]

They dont show up because that is the nature of potential tenants, they routinely break their word. Pretty much anyone working in leasing resi IP's, owner manager or professional, would have experienced this. It is simply totally inefficient to drop everything and go out to a property because someone said they might be interested in it.
FURTHERMORE
The property manager/ tenant relationship (or owner/tenant) is about CONTROL.
And by pandering to a prospective tenant's request to view immediately, you have handed control to the tenant. Next comes the list of maintenance requests, followed by reasons they are withholding rent a few weeks later.

If you ever are not sure who is in control, that means it is the tenant. Which will be to you and your property's detriment.

burbs

 

[wylie]

My son is doing a PM assistant job, and his experience is also that many prospective tenants just don't show. He drives across town with a key to open a house, and stands around until it is clear they are a "no show".

They are not a "no show" because they cannot wait until the next official "open house" because he is going there specifically to open a house just for them. They still don't turn up.

 

[lura]

Different Approach

There are a lot of stresses IP owners have, one of the most stressing is having a vacant property and the uncertainty about when it will start generating income again.

I try to keep my owners informed about viewings and enquiries so they know how much activity there has been (or how little activity).

Not only do I do scheduled Open For Inspections - minimum twice a week - where required - three or four times a week.

If someone rings and wants to see a property - I'm in the car! Stay there, I'm on my way!!!

I was desparate to rent a brand new house in Coomera - it had been vacant for weeks - no enquiry - flyers, changing the ads...OFIs nothing seemed to work - one of the worst enquiry periods of the year is through the September period. So I get a drive by enquiry on a wet and blustery Sunday - I'm in the car...and you know what, I get the application and great tenants as a result.

There is NO WAY your standard property manager will do this for your investment property especially if they are just employees- but there are a few that might. Depending on how desparate they are to rent your property. My belief is, if there is someone interested - grab them.

If your agent makes prospective tenants wait a few days - this I don't think is good enough - because there are so many factors that affect these prospective tenants - they can't get time off work, they need to know straight away...if the property manager cannot be more flexible to fit in with working tenants - they potentially miss out on great tenants and shorter vacancies.

JMHO
Lu

 

[chris01]

(1) "The property manager/ tenant relationship (or owner/tenant) is about CONTROL. "

I agree.

Potential tenants:"I'm off today to find a new place to live, if you can't let me to see the house then I go to elsewhere. There are so many REs in this area."

IP manager: "well, if you are really interested, you would have another day off and go to the house on such and such day."

This is all about the business model of IP management services.

My question here is: Should IP management services be tenant-centred or IP manager-centred?

(2) Burbs, do you usually have a "for lease" sign in front of a rental property (vacant or occupied)?

 

[rugrat]

"if a person turns up at their office they would tell him/her go to the house on such and such day"

This is standard practice in Canberra, made even more annoying for the potiential tenants because you are NOT allowed to sign a tenancy agreement without first having an inspection. I found it very frustraing as a tenant (we just wanted a house, anything would have been better then camping with a one week old newborn on the floor of my parents loungroom). Thing about Canberra though is that the LL have their pick of tenants, so if they don't turn up because of whatever reason, it really makes sweet FA difference to the LL.

 

[WinstonWolfe]

Of the many RIPs I've inspected, at least 70% are not maintained to a high standard.
There will always be something that the PM or LL just say bugger it, I am not fixing that. And really, there's no excuse. If somethign worked and is now broken, bond money, insurance, or claimed depreciation sinking fund should have been used to repair.

i.e. I went looking at rentals on the weekend with a friend. One had been freshly painted, new kitchen and bathroom, new carpet. It was trashed by the last tenant. The garage door handle was broken still, so you couldn't get a car in under cover. I figure it would have cost $65 to fix it. But the LL has made a decision that the tenant doesn't deserve a working garage door....the LL has basically decided he doesn't want a renter who respects and wants to care for their car.

Another rental had loose and tired kitchen cupboard doors and drawers, probably 20+ years old and successive coarse tenants had knocked them around. Over 20 years, enough depreciation should have been claimed to repair or renew. The same house had a swimming pool with an apparent crack. It had been filled in with dirt cos it was too expensive to repair and too expensive to smash up or pull out. What an eyesore it was. All the pump gear was still in the yard. I bet the LL removes the pool when he wants to sell the house though.

The thing is,
- the majority of LLs think 70% of renters are ignorant pigs and don't deserve everything be maintained well.
- the majority of renters think 70% of LLs are selfish pigs who look down on tenants and refuse to keep a place in a respectable condition.

 

[Steve Basin]

Unfortunately, this is fairly normal and it all depends;
1. how busy the agency is
2. how long your property has been vacant


In my experience, generally, the PM would open multiple open inspections throughout the week, but in some cases they will personally, open the house at a designated time, depending on each enquirer.

I can understand the agent for not wanting to open the house for every single individual; Yes, you may get the property rented out faster + you'll get better service from the agency however, in alot of cases, the;

a. prospective tenants don't show up
b. tenant shows poor savings record
c. tenant shows poor history etc

which all wastes the agents time.

I understand your frustration, as I thought about that too. But, if you think from the point of view of the agent, you can understand them as well.

 

[Amadio]

If someone rings and wants to see a property - I'm in the car! Stay there, I'm on my way!!!

If ever I have an IP where you are located Lura, you would be first on my list to be the PM.

This is how we got our 2 last properties as tenants. We were standing outside calling the agent who came zipping along as fast as their little minimobile could take them. We signed a contract just as fast.

The concept of "control"- mentioned in a previous post*, PM versus tenant, and the generalisations about all tenants, is a bit astonishing.

LL and their agent enter into a contractual agreement, not some Important Person Versus Unimportant Person arrangement.

*wish I could multi-quote but alas..

 

[Peterw]

Interesting how things have changed over the years. When I first got into the business, I would suggest around 60 to 70% of flats/units and 30% of houses were furnished. Keys were handed out to tenants, so they could view at their leasure. I do not recall us loosing any thing. I gather some one must have, as that practice was dropped, and over time, fewer properties were furnished, if not any. With the work load of a property managers increasing, that is if a thorough inspection is done, at entry, exit and routines, added to processing applications, following up on maintainence etc, the capacity of a property manager to show property "on call" is pretty limited. They can have up to a full half day booked solid wth appointments. As offices get bigger, they can then employ people for particular tasks, ie leasing etc, and I think there becomes the "balance". As things vary all around the country, there is no doubt "not a one size fits all" solution, however I think we all need to remind our selves, as LL's and agents, tenants are our customers, and we should all be working to make the experience as well as we can. I know we will not be able to do that every time, but I believe most people can pick up when we are trying, and will then work in with us.

 

[chris01]

"Interesting how things have changed over the years."

The change from "tenant-centred" service to "IP manager-centred" service not long ago is largely due to high demand for rental property. We should still remember how some REs "autioned" rental properties, renting out the properties to the highest bidders.

However IPs availability has improved recently and tenants have more choice now. So I think if REs still run IP management in the same way as 5 years ago, then it can be a problem.

 

[Burbs]

I suggest that many of the comments detracting from my previous posts stem from a lack of experience in coalface resi IP management, particularly in low to middle income suburbs.
Just to point out:
. My agency is the most proactive in rental viewings compared to all other agencies in the local area.
. No other local agency is open on Saturday - (okay a small handful are open Sat morning to receipt rents) - we are open all day for the express purpose of leasing property and have licensed property managers on duty all day (yes that is expensive and generally unappreciated by owners)
. No other local agency views twice a week every week until leased - the standard is once a week on a weekday (ie no after hours or weekend viewing) and some dont even do that.
. I own a substantial resi IP portfolio and have built my systems and procedures around my own experiences as an owner both past and ongoing; my staff often do not know that I own a particular property and it is managed EXACTLY THE SAME as any other owner's property, and I am a demanding owner.
. I have also been known to personally hold home opens on a Sunday for owners with sticking properties. This is a good thing to do on selected occasions; however not the foundation for a successful business model. By contrast, the strict discipline of twice weekly viewings (combined with responding to market feedback from those viewings) is a much firmer foundation for leasing properties fast.

Re For Lease signs, yes I do use them but selectively. There are pros and cons. The pro is that you will attract some additional enquiries, and it help with difficult to identify properties when prospective tenants are searching for them. The con is that it can be a magnet for squatters and vandals, and I do not recommend for lease signs for run down properties.

Re Control, absolutely 100% stand by those comments. Control starts from first contact with the tenant and must be consistently maintained. Many people appreciate kindness. By contrast, many tenants interpret kindness as weakness to be taken advantage of.

In all this discussion about viewings, I should also add that we are still running at a 45% approval level for applications. Yes over half of the applications are fraudulent, false, inadquately documented, undisclosed problems etc. As I teach my staff, the easiest eviction they will ever do is to decline an application. It is too late once they are in the property. If in doubt, chuck it out. The flip side of this is low arrears and minimal evictions.

My model of property management is something I have developed over many years of trial and error and is a long way from my beginnings where I would personally view and meet every applicant, and down the track hand deliver them a Christmas hamper. I have quoted plenty of facts, figures and real experience in my posts, with a minimum of theory. Burbs

 

[porp_e]

This is standard practice in Canberra, made even more annoying for the potiential tenants because you are NOT allowed to sign a tenancy agreement without first having an inspection.

Totally agree! We have the same annoying rule in WA so when I moved here from Sydney I had to crash on a friends couch for 3 weeks while looking at rentals and trying to find a job. However in the town I live in REs seem to be fairly happy to show properties on their way home at the end of the day, there were only a couple of times I rang up and couldn't get in to see a property until the following day or two, definately not the case in the city though (inspections in Sydney were usually every Saturday - very frustrating when there were 2 or 3 properties open at the same time)

 

[chris01]

I think we have a good discussion here: thoughts from both (frustrated )parties.

 

[bradcon]

As a (once Prospective) tenant its pretty tough to get to as many houses as you can. The first time we want to plenty of open houses (Most on Saturday, most with in excess of 40 people waiting out the front). I think we only applied for one of the houses we inspected (which is the point of an open house right?) Eventually we found a house, called up and the Agent arranged a time that worked for both the agent and us, and it was signed sealed and delivered. Its a shame that there are stories of Agents going what i think is above and beyond the call of duty by doing a 'private' open house and people not showing up. Its crap like this that gives renters a bad name. Its fine (IMO) to change your mind but have the manners to call and cancel.

As i have said Saturdays are a nightmare for open houses and weekday viewing i think give you the best of people on Centrelink payments (which i amnot sure are the most desirable tenants). I am lucky that my job is flexible. If you think about it the people you want to rent your property are most likely to be the people who cant get to weekday inspections because they are WORKING!!!

Whoever said the 70% comment i think is right. The sooner that changes and the relationship becomes more co-operative and less adverserial the better.

 

[tobe]

Is it possible to have pre approved tenants? that is, prospective tenants fill out a generic application, once this is vetted by the PM, they are then given the key like in the old days, or met by the pm at the house, rather than doing an inspection?

If you were a really good PM, and there was lots of demand, you could almost ask the tenant to pay the subscriber fee to tenant database checks etc.

It could even be a such a generic application form, that other agents, either of the same franchise, or in the same area could co operate.

Of course serious tenants will have all their pariticulars and supporting docs with them when they start looking at estate agents anyway I guess.

 

[Ozziespur]

Is it not in the best interest of the PM to get the IP tenanted asap ? No rent = no income via fees ?

Obviously as the owner you want good tenants but PM's making prospective tenants jump through hoops isn't ideal either. I understand that many no show etc, but if someone explains they cannot make the open house date surely the PM would give options ?

 

[kathryn d]

Is it not in the best interest of the PM to get the IP tenanted asap ? No rent = no income via fees ?

Obviously as the owner you want good tenants but PM's making prospective tenants jump through hoops isn't ideal either. I understand that many no show etc, but if someone explains they cannot make the open house date surely the PM would give options ?

I bet the PM is not paid on commission?
If I was to rent, I'd go with a private landlord.
They have more of an incentive to accommodate you.

I know we always make it as easy as possible when an applicant wants to view.
Yes, there are many no-shows, but I ask for their contact phone number (mobile phone) and if they don't show..I call them.
Still wouldn't rent to them after that, but like to hear them squirm.
It is funny, but it always the grandmother suddenly got sick.