Self management

Hello

I am looking for advice on self management of my property in nsw. In a nutshell the tenant has been there for over 5 years and was self managed by the previous owner prior to my purchase(when i appointed a managing agent).

I now wish to start managing the property myself and need advice on lease, bond(currently held with agent) , and anything else i should know or do.

Thanks
 
You seriously want to become a property manager in 5 minutes :confused: my advice - use an agent

I understand where you may be coming from . But in the case of this tenancy it's been self managed for 4 out of 5 years and it's only when I bought it I decided on an agent.

The agent has decided to post me a letter informing an inc in fees from 8.8% to 11% . There is very little communication with the agent and infact the tenant calls me directly if anything needs resolving as the agent is slow at responding.

I am of the opinion that as the tenant has been a good tenant with very little issues (any minor repairs etc that need sorting out .... The tenant does himself), rent is paid in advance .... So why not give it a go for 1 year and see how self mamagement goes.
 
So why not give it a go for 1 year and see how self mamagement goes.

Look I understand where you are coming from, because it feels crap to have to pay someone else to do what seems like very little...

But if you don't know the first thing about property management, then you are not ready to self manage. It is especially hard to do interstate as well.

I know more than most about self management, and I still wouldn't try and do it from another state.
 
Hello

I am looking for advice on self management of my property in nsw. In a nutshell the tenant has been there for over 5 years and was self managed by the previous owner prior to my purchase(when i appointed a managing agent).

I now wish to start managing the property myself and need advice on lease, bond(currently held with agent) , and anything else i should know or do.

Thanks

I'm just starting to manage 2 properties in qld. This is because I can save Management fee 7-9% (e.g $300pw * 10% = $30 ) and can use the money for repairing or something. It is good for you to try.

Phase 1
1. Inform the current manager that you intend to take over.
2. Ask prepare a bond form to change of lesser
3. Ask provide the recent tenant ledger.
4. Ask the last tenancy agreement, inspect report.

Phase 2
1. Meet the tenent
2. Lodge a bond form to change of lesser
3. Tenancy agreement
4. Inspection report

Phase 3
1. Keep track rental payment
2. Care the tenant kindly!

I'm not sur in NSW. I hope someone give you advise.
 
I'm just starting to manage 2 properties in qld. This is because I can save Management fee 7-9% (e.g $300pw * 10% = $30 ) and can use the money for repairing or something. It is good for you to try.

What happens when the tenant stops paying rent or otherwise breaches the agreement?
 
1. Get the current agent to send or email you the change of managing agent/owner form, ledger, tenancy agreement, condition report and any other files they have.

2. When you have received the documents, contact the tenant to arrange the new payment details. Fax in the change of managing agent form.

3. Setup your software to make things easy. Rentbook is probably your best option.

4. Additionally you may have to redirect the council, strata and water rates to yourself. Inform the tenant of any new procedures that you want to implement.
Then do as much research as you can so you know what to do along the line when issues arise.

If you are comfortable taking on the task and think the tenant will stay long term then you could be fine. Only thing is that you may then need to find an agent to let the property if the tenant vacates. Then you would have to hold onto the agent for a while to ensure that inspections are carried out unless you want to visit the property.

Out of curiosity, where in NSW do they charge those high rates?
 
I've done both - self management and used a PM.

Self management is a massive pain in the a**. It's not just the big issues that may arise - but the small things that you get calls about. I'd rather pay my deductible 10% of rental income to have someone else look after those headaches.

We only started self managing (well my wife did - admittedly I didn't do a whole lot) because of a bad experience with an old PM. Now we've got a good PM - and it makes our life so much easier.

Cheers

Jamie
 
With that Jamie, I think it also depends on if you have time available to self manage and if you get stressed out easily, then the process can be a headache to work through.

But I do believe that with some training and knowledge you can easily manage your own properties. It is ideal if the property is well maintained, you do things right initially, are able to source good tenants and have a structured process in place.

This will reduce issues and keep things running smoothly.
In the end it is up to the individual how much they value their time.
 
Thank you all for your feedback.

I will contact a few property managers in the area(tamworth) to see what they have to offer .
 
The agent has decided to post me a letter informing an inc in fees from 8.8% to 11% . There is very little communication with the agent and infact the tenant calls me directly if anything needs resolving as the agent is slow at responding.

It sounds like you may need a better agent.

However, if you are keen on self managing you need to read up on the tenancy legislation which will tell you what needs to be done and when (re: bond, inspections, rent etc)
 
I self manage a property in Melbourne from Perth. The only real issue I have had in the 6+ years I have owned the property was the first tenant trashing the place. First tenant was recommended to me by the selling agent who vouched for her as a 'close personal friend'. Turns out she was a ex property manager and thought she could set me up to get her bond back despite some minor damage to the property. I was very comfortable with taking her to the tribunal and got half the bond back. I have had no issues with tenants since.

You will need to read up on the rules before you start. There are guides for landlords on the relevant department's web site.
In Vic, we need to set up a property condition report at start and end, there are rules for rent reviews and increasing rent, and rules for the end of the property. There are a number of other rules, such as access, that you will need to be aware of.

You will need to conduct regular inspections. Don't assume you have a good tenant and that you don't need to do them. Also, if the tenant breaches the contract you should issue a breach notice in accordance with the rules in your state. I have had the situation where I had a "nice" tenant, who was generally maintaining a property well but did have some minor breaches. I handled them in writing instead of issuing breach notices. The tenancy ended badly and the tribunal was not impressed by my lack of breach notices (Perth). I imagine this would vary from state to state.

The biggest issue for me is finding new tenants because I don't want to conduct open houses and don't have access to the tenant database. I use an agent to find a tenant (with my final say), set up the lease including special conditions, prepare the property condition report and lodge the bond.

I mange the tenant after that including: regular inspections, issuing breach notices, arranging repairs and maintenance, regular rent reviews, final inspections for leaving tenants, return of bond or action at tribunal. I currently self manage two properties (three in the past) and I don't find that it takes a lot of times. A couple of my tenants were specifically looking for self managed properties due to problems they had with previous agent managed properties. They were my good tenants too!
 
thanks for the feedback.

I have rung up numerous agents and have had new quotes from 8% through to 15% plus gst. Now i have to decide whether to least it through an agent at 8% or self manage the current tenant whose been there for 5 years plus. decisions decisions decisions
 
thanks for the feedback.

I have rung up numerous agents and have had new quotes from 8% through to 15% plus gst. Now i have to decide whether to least it through an agent at 8% or self manage the current tenant whose been there for 5 years plus. decisions decisions decisions
I just noticed you are in Perth too... duh!

A good place to start is here:
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/ftw/Tenants_and_home_owners/Being_a_landlord.page
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/f...ers/Being_a_landlord/Starting_a_tenancy.page?
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/f...wners/Being_a_landlord/During_a_tenancy.page?
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/f...wners/Being_a_landlord/Ending_a_tenancy.page?

If that makes you feel overwhelmed, self managing might not be for you. Otherwise, it is worth considering. Some questions to consider: how often will you inspect the property? Will you do this yourself or get someone to do it for you? Are you comfortable arranging contractors for repairs over the phone? Is there someone to check the work has been done properly before you pay the invoice?

The reason I ask the last question is that I had an agent in Melbourne arrange to have work done. I paid the invoice on their advice but when I inspected the work it had not been done :(

Flying to Sydney and back from Perth is only a couple of hundred dollars each way now days, so it may be feasible for you to do the inspections yourself. If you can be bothered. I have family in Melbourne, so it worth me flying over a couple of times a year to personally inspect the property there.
 
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