Self Managing.

B

Barletta

I've just bought my first property (IP) and was thinking about having a go at managing it myself to save on fees' etc. I figure the more money in my pocket, the sooner I'll be able to get myself another one.

I was going to go through a PM, however I bumped into a friend of mine last night who was enquiring about my new house, and how it was going. I told her the expected rent, and she said that she was looking for a place to stay, and would be happy to pay that price.

Of course I know the implications of doing business with a friend.. but I thought that just perhaps it might even go the other way and be a good chance to get into myself rather than manage randoms that I don't know.

A positive of this experience might be that I can call around whenever I want, if theres little jobs I need to do etc etc. A negative however could be that if she gets behind in rent, and expects me to do her a favour by booking up a TAB or something of the like (She told me that there's no way of that happening, as she earns 2k a fornight).

Thoughts and opinions? Has anyone gone through something like this?
 
As an experiment, put aside all the fees a PM would have charged you. At the end of the lease, see if you needed to take any of this money for arrears or maintenance fees the PM would have organized at their rates.
You will then get an idea of how much you really saved.

Having a PM handle your friend as a tenant is a waste. If something went wrong, your friend would still blame you, and you would be making less money.
If this person is really a friend, they will not have any rental arrears or damage.
 
I agree with Kathryn that if you have a friend in your property then using a property manager would be a waste of money.

I do not agree with the statement that if she really is a friend she won't damage the property or get behind in rent. Relationships do have some weight of course, but you should rely more on her personality than your relationship. People whose lives are under control are generally good to rent to, regardless of how friendly (or not) they are, as your rent is more likely to be on time and they are more likely to be particular about how they live (i.e. order & cleanliness). I've had a few tenancies where a really good tenant's situation changes. Their back was against the wall and although they felt bad, they did what had to to save themselves. Even though you might start off with a good friend and tenant you need to be ready to roll with the punches (should they come). It sounds as though you are prepared for this though.

As long as you read up on your RTA (know your rights and responsibilities), do a thorough ingoing condition report (with photos) and get it all signed correctly at the start as well as filling out (COMPLETELY) and signing correctly a lease then you will probably be fine.

Good luck.
 
Still have a watertight lease in place...and say that your land lord insurance insists on it as otherwise you wouldnt be covered..not true but shifts the blame
 
sammmeee said:
Still have a watertight lease in place...and say that your land lord insurance insists on it as otherwise you wouldnt be covered..not true but shifts the blame
Click to expand...

sammee, I think it depends on your landlord ppolicy - mine requireas a signed lease for any new tenant... then the lease can expire and they can go periodic... so depending on which policy you have, it can be true and maybe worht chekcing too.
 
I disagree with the comments above. There is considerable risk in mixing friendship with business. You may not value a full service property manager because you are willing to be hands on in the process but wouldn't it be safer for an agent to handle the ugly and legal parts of property management like arrears, reference checks, credit checks, rental increases, lease preparation, statements and marketing if it only cost $600 pa inc GST. If you are prepared to conduct the routine inspections, prepare the condition reports, coordinate maintenance and be able to show people when the property is next vacant this is all it has to cost. There are now viable alternatives to the full service full fee property management. The only way it makes sense to me that you could possibly be financially be better of by going it alone is if you place no value on your own time, have intimate knowledge of the legislation and have a property management program that forces compliance plus a professional at the end of the phone to help you whenever you need.
 
Alternatives to full fees / service ?

There are now viable alternatives to the full service full fee property management.
Click to expand...

Hi Michael A can you expand on this for me? we have two IP and we are very unhappy with our current PM for one of them (Perth), for numerous occasions of incompetence, the house is currently being advertised again after evicting the tenants, and I have just discovered today they are advertising with photo's that are years old, not a true reflection as the house has just had a major overhaul in recent months to get it to a livable state again. Our PM in Brisbane however is fantastic.

Thanks,
Nat.
 
Hi All,
I was asking the same question a few weeks back, however I found no joy with the recommendations on here. It seems that people have a vested interest in these forums... I found joy from WORD OF MOUTH from someone you trust.
I found a company that are absolutely brilliant with teaching you through support only to self manage your own property from start to finish.
I am not willing to mention their name on here however use google and you will find a range.
We all love property and our investments so why not self manage them!
I am thoroughly enjoying it and have done it for years apart from the last 2 which I had work commitments.
Lucas
 
propertydeal said:
Hi All,
I was asking the same question a few weeks back, however I found no joy with the recommendations on here. It seems that people have a vested interest in these forums... I found joy from WORD OF MOUTH from someone you trust.
Click to expand...

I also self manage and have always done so, however, I believe the recommendations I have seen here are generally from people who have had good experience from the agency they have recommended.

I think it is wrong to suggest that "people have a vested interest in these forums".

Of course, property management is a difficult job, and I believe burnout (and hence turnover of staff) is high, so that could explain why you didn't find the recommendation helpful. Plus the very real fact that sometimes people just don't hit it off.

With only two posts here, perhaps you need to give the forum the benefit of the doubt.
 
wylie said:
I also self manage and have always done so, however, I believe the recommendations I have seen here are generally from people who have had good experience from the agency they have recommended.

I think it is wrong to suggest that "people have a vested interest in these forums".

With only two posts here, perhaps you need to give the forum the benefit of the doubt.
Click to expand...

My apology Wylie, its just purely coincidental that the Managing Director of For Sale for Lease is also named Michael A - AND continually through all of his threads keeps self Promoting his own company, and I have also noticed his number of posts is frozen to 7.

And I thought the forums were for not marketing and for independent people.

Regards,
Lucas
 
propertydeal said:
Hi All,
I was asking the same question a few weeks back, however I found no joy with the recommendations on here. It seems that people have a vested interest in these forums... I found joy from WORD OF MOUTH from someone you trust.
I found a company that are absolutely brilliant with teaching you through support only to self manage your own property from start to finish.
I am not willing to mention their name on here however use google and you will find a range.
We all love property and our investments so why not self manage them!
I am thoroughly enjoying it and have done it for years apart from the last 2 which I had work commitments.
Lucas
Click to expand...
Are you self-managing interstate?
 
propertydeal said:
My apology Wylie, its just purely coincidental that the Managing Director of For Sale for Lease is also named Michael A - AND continually through all of his threads keeps self Promoting his own company, and I have also noticed his number of posts is frozen to 7.

And I thought the forums were for not marketing and for independent people.

Regards,
Lucas
Click to expand...

Ever thought that could be why his posts are frozen at 7. Plenty come here to self promote and they are soon found out :rolleyes:
 
wylie said:
I also self manage and have always done so, however, I believe the recommendations I have seen here are generally from people who have had good experience from the agency they have recommended.

I think it is wrong to suggest that "people have a vested interest in these forums".

Of course, property management is a difficult job, and I believe burnout (and hence turnover of staff) is high, so that could explain why you didn't find the recommendation helpful. Plus the very real fact that sometimes people just don't hit it off.

With only two posts here, perhaps you need to give the forum the benefit of the doubt.
Click to expand...

That's right, we're very sensitive
 
Lucas
If i was trying to hide anything wouldn't i use a different name. I only ever comment on threads that are a direct enquiry regarding a service one of my companies can provide. If you want to self manage fine, if you would prefer to use a traditional agent for the full service fine, if you want something in between then there are very few real alternatives that the public is aware of for property management. If providing this awareness is not contributing to the discussion then i will continue to do this on other forums.
 
I didn't know you were linked to ForSaleForLease [Don't have the time or inclination to google everyone on here]. I think if you are in the industry and do have a vested interest it is basic courtesy to say so either in the post or the sign off at the bottom.

Michael A said:
Lucas
If i was trying to hide anything wouldn't i use a different name. I only ever comment on threads that are a direct enquiry regarding a service one of my companies can provide. If you want to self manage fine, if you would prefer to use a traditional agent for the full service fine, if you want something in between then there are very few real alternatives that the public is aware of for property management. If providing this awareness is not contributing to the discussion then i will continue to do this on other forums.
Click to expand...
 
Good Morning All, to answer someones earlier question on self managing interstate, yes, its easy if you have your finger on the pulse. I have done it for many years and have been doing a little investigation on some really helpful companies out there, amazing what you find when you start looking.
Having a great time so far!

Will see how things go and may write up later on my experiences with some good businesses, however dont want to risk recommendation too early on.

Happy days
Luc
 
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