Is this reasonable for a Property Manager in Frankston North

[Mindmaster]

Hi Are about to finish buying an IP in Frankston North (will be the topic of another thread) through a buyers agent who also manage properties.

They are more expensive as a PM than I expected so I'd really appreciate people's feedback on their rates and if they are reasonable.

Their are McRae Property and their rates are

-1 weeks rent plus GST and

-$ 110 for all advertising

-$ 55.00 for Condition Report with professional photography (One of the most important aspects that the others don’t do)

-6.6 % of weekly / monthly rent including GST

-Rental history check additional Cost $ 15 per tenant inclusive of GST

All opinions welcome

 

[Mindmaster]

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Any one for an opinion

 

[JoshyBoi]

PMs I'm looking at in Brisbane are all offering in the same range:

1 weeks rent + GST to find each new tenant
8% weekly rent + GST
required services / maintenance at cost + 10% + GST

I've even been quoted 9% + GST by one 'senior' PM
I've also been quoted an additional 1/2 weeks rent + GST if extension negotiated with existing tenant!

Surely there's better around Brisbane??

 

[Mindmaster]

Thanks for your feedback Joshyboi.

Looks like no one else has an opinion

 

[vbplease]

I hope the wording on the property management agreement is a bit more detailed?

-1 weeks rent plus GST and

For each new lease? This sounds normal to me. How about the fee for a lease renewal?

-$ 110 for all advertising

imo, I'd cross that out.. the 1weeks rent should cover an ad in re.com

-$ 55.00 for Condition Report with professional photography (One of the most important aspects that the others don’t do)

I'd cross that out too.. I don't think professional photography is needed.. and you wouldn't get professional for $55 anyway would you?

-6.6 % of weekly / monthly rent including GST

Sounds good to me, but I'm not sure what is normal in Frankston?

-Rental history check additional Cost $ 15 per tenant inclusive of GST

$15 for every single applicant?? I'd be crossing that out too.. again, that's what the first weeks rent should be for.

 

[wobbycarly]

I'm with VB.

- 1 week for a new lease is pretty standard (and maybe 1/2 for renewal), but + GST?
- advertising should be included in this
- condition report should not be extra, although the idea of photos is nice, but how "professional" would they really be, or NEED to be?
- 6.6% seems good. I'm used to 7-8%. Maybe this little saving will make up for the additional costs
- rental history check should be included in leasing fee

 

[JoshyBoi]

I usually work out what I would get on average per week over a 12 month agreement...Agreed Weekly Rental * 52 weeks - (PM Commission + PM Expenses)...

If i'm happy with that, I'll take it, if not, ask them to increase what they are asking by another $5-$10 a week and that should cover the difference - 6.6% is pretty good ongoing commission imo

 

[Mindmaster]

Thank you for your replies every one.

Some one posted in another thread that they have four IP's in Frankston under management by L.J. Hooker so i just gave them a call. Their rates are 7.7% and 2 weeks rent per lease that covers advertising.

This is the cost of each based on $250 weekly rent and one tenant a year

McRae Property
6.6% $858
1 weeks rent $250
Advertising $110
Report $55
Total $1273

L.J. Hooker
7.7% $1001
2 weeks rent $500
Total $1501

This does not take into account quality of service

 

[kathryn d]

I guess our own private manager at $600 a month to look after $14K month rental is a good deal.
No extra's to pay, plus they do minor repairs and mintenance included
Unlimited tenants.

 

[Ms Jade]

6.6% is about as low as you'll get - unless you have a lot of properties. Curious what other quotes you got to make you think that this one was expensive. I have never heard of that agency. Did you buy the property through them?

 

[JoshyBoi]

I guess our own private manager at $600 a month to look after $14K month rental is a good deal.
No extra's to pay, plus they do minor repairs and mintenance included
Unlimited tenants.

Thats a great rate! How'd you secure that? I wonder if similar private managers are available in other regions...

 

[kathryn d]

Thats a great rate! How'd you secure that? I wonder if similar private managers are available in other regions...

This is what we will be paying starting September.
We will be travelling and lazing about for 8 months a year.
Return to Canada (where our properties are). Self manage our properties for 4 months and then return to Australia again.

We will be directing our manager to do what needs to be done.
We have no intention of handing over control of the properties.

The young couple are just starting with their first IP. Their first tenants are being a handful.
They are excited to be able to learn with our guidance.

Win win situation.
They work for 8 months and we pay them for 12 months.

 

[laowra]

Hi Are about to finish buying an IP in Frankston North (will be the topic of another thread) through a buyers agent who also manage properties.

They are more expensive as a PM than I expected so I'd really appreciate people's feedback on their rates and if they are reasonable.

Their are McRae Property and their rates are

-1 weeks rent plus GST and

-$ 110 for all advertising

-$ 55.00 for Condition Report with professional photography (One of the most important aspects that the others don’t do)

-6.6 % of weekly / monthly rent including GST

-Rental history check additional Cost $ 15 per tenant inclusive of GST

All opinions welcome

The rental history checks are probably for "National Tenancy Database". NTD charge around $15 per person to do the check. This charge would be passed on to you by the PM.
$110 advertising - websites the PM uses could charge them in bulk or per upload. They may also charge for an advertising For Lease board.
$55 condition report w. prof photography. You don't need professionaly photography for a condition report. The only person who's going to look at the photos is the PM, yourself and the tenants. I feel this charge is unreasonable.
Managing fees of 6.6% inc GST - good price. You can always ask the PM to price-match however their level of service is reflected in this charge..
1 weeks rent leasing fee - this is good. Sometimes you will find it's 3.3%, also standard.

 

[JoshyBoi]

1 weeks rent leasing fee - this is good. Sometimes you will find it's 3.3%, also standard.

Do you mean 3.3% of the entire tenancy - i.e.: if its 12 months, its
weekly rent * 52 * 3.3% = fee

That's actually quite scary, it makes it 9.9% overall for the year! And its not really that much better if its just one weeks rent as the charge...

 

[callander]

$55 condition report w. prof photography. You don't need professionaly photography for a condition report. The only person who's going to look at the photos is the PM, yourself and the tenants. I feel this charge is unreasonable.

You will be suprised how much assistance those photos may be during and at the end of the tenancy. if there are issues they will be seen by other people, the most important would be the sitting member at VCAT. before and after photos are worth their weight in gold!!!!!!

 

[Mindmaster]

6.6% is about as low as you'll get - unless you have a lot of properties. Curious what other quotes you got to make you think that this one was expensive. I have never heard of that agency. Did you buy the property through them?

Hi Ms Jade,

This property manager is also the buyers agent i used to buy the property so I have not been chasing quotes for a PM. 6.6% initially seemed expensive because I'm using the PM fees for my other IP in Sunshine that has just 6% as a comparison.

I mainly wanted to confirm that their fees are reasonable before signing my life away. A haphazard form of due diligence

 

[Above Average]

When we purchased our last IP the agent we purchased from were very keen to keep the property on their rental books.

They asked me what i wanted.

I asked them what their best price was.

The conclusion was a 5.5% PM fee.

No advertising costs.

Normally there is a 1st week rent fee for a new tenancy but this was waived.

They got my business & I was happy with the deal.

This is in a suburb of Melbourne.

Above Average

 

[Ms Jade]

I would rather pay an extra 1% any day for a good PM. PMs are your representative in your business and a bad one can destroy it. Make sure you ask why you should be using this firm to manage your property. Find out how long the PM has been in the job & make sure you speak directly to the person who is managing your property. Too often there will be a junior person who is not fully trained & has too many properties to manage them properly. Many firms cycle through PMs pretty quickly, too.

Mindmaster, sending you a PM.

 

[mergess]

Above Average, what a great price!

Where are they located?

I recently started with Stockdale & Leggo, Carrum Downs, they charge one weeks letting fee for a new tenant, nothing to sign a new lease with the same tenant, 6.6% m'ment fee (but currently are giving 6months m'ment free over 2 years) and $15 per NTD(sp) check.
Service has been excellent so far, they arranged for utilities to be turned on for the tenant, rent paid on time to me and they pay my rates and bills for the property from the rent.

Couldn't be happier, have had experience with MPRE, wouldn't bother with them again!