landlord insurance - our experience - CGU

[see_change]

Of the seven houses we bought in Logan , we had one stop paying after they had been there for about two week.

They had just left home, so no referances and had a young baby and the agent said they seemed like a nice couple....mmm

We didn't receive a notification from the PM that they hadn't payed, so only found out about it when we received the Owners statement , and mmmm , for one month $155 didn't seem a lot.

Rang PM next day , and they said there was a letter in the mail about it , which we received two days later.

The agent had already been around to the house and there was no sign of anyone being there, minimal furniture , kids toys, and it was messy ( but not to bad ).

We told the agent to go ahead and do the appropriate notification to the tenancy tribunal. The agent did this and we gave the agent details of our insurance policy.

Our policy is with CGU and we used Bendigo Brokers for this
( recommendation from TW)

The tenants didn't appear at the tribunal and they were duly evicted ( they disappeared so this was not a difficult problem).

The agent said that the contents were worth less than $1000 , so they were disposed of. If > 1000 they need to be stored.

New tenant was found ( at increased rent )

Have just received a cheque for $2500. which covers costs / cleaning / agent fees and rent while being re let, minus an excess of $500.00

All this took us was about 4 short phone calls. Major disappointment was the slow notification from agent , though it did take about 3 months to get the money.

see change

 

[Sim]

Thanks for that SC - we're possibly about to have to evict a tenant too due to non-payment... might have to test the CGU landlords insurance for myself soon. You've made me rest a little easier about it now !

 

[BKH]

Have made a claim thru CGU thru an insurance assessor. Tenant fell behind in rent, husband causing malicuous damage to walls in fits of anger. Carpets and walls messed up etc. Some$5,000 in lost rent and repairs. Had to negotiate via the insurance assessor and finally an amicable settlement (but then I have a background in insurance claims) but definitely had to push various parts of the claim. (good advice is to document everything and photos before and after). So lucky that we had a policy though. So I recommend having landlord insurance and satisfied with CGU after negotiations. Well worth the money. My only concern was the assessor never visited the site and initially relied on the details provided by the property manager rather than from the owners who cleaned up the mess

 

[Macca]

my experience with CGU is OK as well.

About 3 months into policy we had some storm damage, total repair bill about $2500. We had to get 2 quotes, which the PM did, sent off the invoices and got the cheques within 2-3 weeks.

I thought the service was good.

 

[sbe]

Thanks guys for sharing that. I'm using them for some of mine, so info on their performance at payout time is handy.

Cheers,

Simon.

 

[Glenn]

Hi All,

Is it possible to buy this policy from CGU without having a Property Manager managing the property??

Glenn

 

[sbe]

I believe so.

Mine is an extension of the Home & Contents policy for landlords.

There's probably something about having to have a bond in place though.

 

[sctpc]

Glenn my insurance is with REI a broker for CGU there in melbourne but do australia

thanks sc im haveing fun at the moment with a tenant she is 17 weeks and the tribunal gave her another 18 days due the the re not giveing her a green form and i know she has stuffed the house as she was bragging to next door i think i will start doing the mangement my self

 

[itinerantotter]

"i think i will start doing the mangement my self"

In a word - don't!!!!!!

 

[duncan_m]

Originally posted by itinerantotter
"i think i will start doing the mangement my self"

In a word - don't!!!!!!

In a word " DO !! ", we took over the management of our portfolio around 6 months ago. Best decision we've ever made, we jump on problems now faster than any of the 11 'professoinal' Property Manager's we've had over the last 5 years..

A few things that we did that I'd highly recommend..

1. Visit the tribunal in your state and sit through some hearings, in South Australia at least they are open to the Public even if you do get funny looks from the Tenants/Landlords who appear..

2. Have all the forms you need ready.. when you fill in the first few formal notices take it into your Tribunal and ask them to check that its properly filled in.

3. Use a business name and have a second phone line that has an answering machine, act as the property manager not the landlord.. some tenants will work out when they see the lease but it makes it easier at Open Inspections etc..

4. Have spreadsheets/software/systems etc in place, dutifully record everything. Have a diary on your desk to record all phone calls, correspondence etc..

5. Take, and retain, photocopies of all correspondence, file everything so its easy to find again..


Property Management is a big rip-off, most agents are slack, useless, laissez-faire, lazy and want to do the least amount of work they can to earn then 7-10%..

Duncan.

 

[Tibor]

Property management.

I would liek to share my experiences. I have 7 properties (plus a friend of mine using the same agency with some of their), managed by 2 onsite managres and Ray White Waterford (Kerri Hudson is the manager's name).

basically I am happy with all 3 of them. Ray White manages 5 property for me and after I have explained how I would like to be treated, I am getting it reasonably well. Just the latest. One of my properties become vacant (tenant left). Property was let out for $1-5 per week (mate's rate as the tenant was also an RE agent who helped me getting some of the properties). Without me asking, she organised quotes ($900 for painting a 2 bedder townhouse completely!, $385 for new curtains, $2100 to tile everything downstairs). I got my own carpet man as he was cheper than the one the agent organised. I asked her what about letting it out for $130 after the reno. She said that tenant was already organised (1 year lease on $130)!
She has done it with me in the past and a house what the other agent "could not" let out for $150 for about 2 weeks, was let out within 24hrs!!!! by her. I organised some flowers and chocolate for her after the vent. I could very highly recommend her to anyone in the Logan area. She is just 1 class better than the others. Not everything is perfect, but basically as far as I am concerned, she worth her money which is only 6.5% as she manages multiple properties for us. I know if I buy another one in the area, who is gonna get the management rights.

I am remote (Sydney based), but even if I would be local, I would not consider to manage it myself. I respect the tenants, but I do not wish to be too friendly with them as keeping the rent in the market rate is my business interest and I do not wish to mix it up with special concerns. The agent can tell the tenants to leave when they are late with rents, (without a very good reason for it and a "bring it up-to-date" plan), and I do not have to argue / consider / etc. I also do not wish to fix toilets, taps, etc. A plumber with a reasonable rate can do a much better job than me. Late night and weekend phone calls due to "problems and disasters" are also not in my favourite list.

Obviously a bad manager or being interested to learn how it is done can always be a reason for some people to do self-management. I rather find a good property manager and get on with finding other properties, than spending valuable time on something I can outsource at a reasonable cost.

Just the 2c (and personal view/opinion).

Tibor

 

[geoffw]

What you choose to do may well depend om past experience, and on costs.

I have a DHA property. They charge 15%. The rent is below market value, and I don't have permission to add value. But the bank does take 100% of rent into account for servicibality. But, that's really not worth what I pay- and I have no choice.

On the other end, I have a block of 8, let out at $100 pw each. PM is 5% (quantity, plus bought from the same agent). It's bottom of the market, so the agents have a lot of work to do- and they do a fantastic job. I'm quite happy to pay $40 pw for that. Three visits to the tribunal in six months would have cost me half a day work time each time. I get paid hourly. They are good on inspections, and are proactive- e3specially in reagrds to keeping track with current rents. (If you managed yourself, and did not know, or did not have the heart to, raise rents, then you've lost all financial advantage to doing the PM yourself).

A good PM will prove themselves when things go bad. If you have someone who is good when things go bad, keep them. If not, fire them.

 

[itinerantotter]

duncan_m, you said "Property Management is a big rip-off, most agents are slack, useless, laissez-faire, lazy and want to do the least amount of work they can to earn then 7-10%.."

This is definitely not my experience - perhaps it's just luck, but I have wonderful PMs who are proactive and do over and above the call of duty at a discount price.

How many properties are you managing yourself?

Cheers

 

[Glenn]

A mate of mine has done really well with residential property...he was able to retire @ 43.

Soon after he got started, he realised that property was his game and he wanted it to be his business... that included management. He worked on his own "people skills" and took a couple of property management courses. Most of his props are walking distance from his house, 6 of them being in the same street.

His office is a coffee shop in Leederville and a mobile phone, his kitchen stove hardly gets used because they can afford to eat out every night, their days are spent at yoga classes and the beach.

Some people are want to and are suited to do their own management, others aren't and don't. Just a personal choice I suppose....I am not saying that everyone should do it but those that should realise they can and should.

Good luck

Glenn

 

[Jacque]

Good comments there Glenn. And I have to agree with you about it not being everyone's forte. Property managing really is a skill that requires organisation, a personality that can handle confrontation and the type who can be assertive and charming at the same time. You also need to be an efficient salesperson, particularly in today's market, with so many properties available for rent. It's not a job that I, personally, could handle but there are so many out there who are great at it and deserve every cent they earn.

After managing two properties on my own now, I am relieved to report that both are now with PM's. I didn't have nightmare tenants or any problems to speak of. However, I just didn't enjoy the experience and stressed out unnecessarily when there was no need. Having someone else "handle things" makes my life a lot smoother and besides, I have time to fry other fish

 

[Chantal]

Thanks for the original post, I too am landlord insured with CGU and this is good to know!

Cheers,

Chantal

 

[Glenn]

Hi Jacque,

You hit the nail right on the head when you said that property management requires selling skills.

When letting a property, I feel that if someone is firstly going to spend their money calling me (after knowing how much the rent is) to get some introductory information and then get in their car and drive over to see it they are HOT prospects. People that rent property are not stupid and will rarely be convinced to rent a property that they do not like or cannont afford.

While the people are walking around looking at the property, I ask the following questions:

1. When would you like to move from your current address\when do you have to?

2. Do you see yourself living comfortably in this property?

3. Do you wish to apply to rent the property?

Glenn

 

[duncan_m]

Originally posted by itinerantotter

How many properties are you managing yourself?

Hi Otter,

We manage more than 10 ourselves. It takes us around 2 hrs a week. When we have a vacancy (rare) it takes us 3-4hrs work to fill it (combined, placing ads, inspections, etc etc).. Last financial year we had 5 vacancies (when we had them managed 'professionally' )

Property Management is money for Jam for 'professional' agents.

Duncan.

 

[itinerantotter]

Duncan - that's wonderful - it sounds like you've really got it sussed. My circumstances (I'm itinerant!!) make it not viable for me - and I really don't know if I'd do it myself if I was in Oz more.

I'm presuming you can't get Landlord Protection insurance without a PM - is this a concern? Or do you just keep a close eye on things so they don't ever get out of hand?

Cheers

Otter

 

[sctpc]

well it been good geting your responces but I am now selling my 3 common rentals as My pm has realy p@##*^ ME OFF ITS JUST NOT WERTHB IT FOR 6% BUT I AM HAPPY THERE NOW WORTH 700K COST 40K OUT OF MY POCKET IN 7 YEARS i WILL INVEST IN CLOSER TO MELBOURNE WHERE MY NEW PROPERTIES ARE AND RUN THEM MY SELF AS I KNOW HOW TO RUN ROOMING HOUSES AND ITS A FAR BETTER RETURN