What does your property manager do for you?
- Thread starter aljarvis
- Start date
I don't mind doing it, but thought it was great that my PM wanted to save me some money.
One of my managers in North Brisbane went out to clean the drains for me today.
The tenant mentioned that they were always getting blocked. (This is after the tenant living in it for 8 years). I said it would be a shame to call a plumber if you just needed to use draino.
The tenants aparently tried, so I ended up telling the agent just get the plumber out as long as it will be around $100 - 120.
He said, I think I can flush it out with some great cleaning product for $30. I said OK then.
He went out and told me he removed about 2m of hair from the drain, and they work fine now.
(I will have to get him a bigger Chrissy present than usual)
I am sorry to say that all my other property managers need micro managing! and you need to be onto them alot of the time. (might have to review management companies this year with other properties.)
F
One of my managers in North Brisbane went out to clean the drains for me today.
The tenant mentioned that they were always getting blocked. (This is after the tenant living in it for 8 years). I said it would be a shame to call a plumber if you just needed to use draino.
The tenants aparently tried, so I ended up telling the agent just get the plumber out as long as it will be around $100 - 120.
He said, I think I can flush it out with some great cleaning product for $30. I said OK then.
He went out and told me he removed about 2m of hair from the drain, and they work fine now.
(I will have to get him a bigger Chrissy present than usual)
I am sorry to say that all my other property managers need micro managing! and you need to be onto them alot of the time. (might have to review management companies this year with other properties.)
F
The PM is the one on the other end of the phone when the tenant is whinging and harping on. Having to listen to this whinging is the main thing that puts me off self managing (that and the distance of most of my IPs).
Even if the PM just rings me and repeats the whinges parrot-style before asking me "what do you want me to do?", it is somehow easier hearing this second hand. And a good PM will filter out all the **** and simply give me the facts; eg air-conditioner is faulty, rather than subjecting me to the accompanying story about the tenant's last electricity bill or how they are 8 months pregnant and the heat is really affecting them etc etc.
I expect him to be invisible.
I just want to see the rent coming in every week with regular increases.
I just want to see the rent coming in every week with regular increases.
Yep me too. No news is good news.
I have read on here about LL complaining that EVERY TIME they ring their PM blah blah. And that they ring them every week. What would you need to talk to the PM about every week or even every month.
I just ring if I think the rent needs to go up or to check if inspections have been done.
One PM did a great job sorting out a new tenant (as in they were there one hour and started complaining).
Our Pm sent me an email suggesting that the rent should be increased to $xxx & would we like to proceed?
Heck yes!!
I must admit that I was going to suggest increasing the rent after this tenant had left. Having this PM has paid for herself!
AA
Heck yes!!
I must admit that I was going to suggest increasing the rent after this tenant had left. Having this PM has paid for herself!
AA
This is the main reason for having a PM - distance. Not physical, emotional.
We used to have a dual occ. lived in the front house and rented the other. If there needed to be a rent increase and the tenant came to us to complain we explained that we didn't have a clue about property that's why we had a PM. They're the experts and if they said it was time for an increase then who am I to argue?
Although we have a PM if I often do my own repairs on the local properties. I used to have the PM refer to me as the Handyman so the tenant wouldn't pester me about other things. One weekend I went to a house to install a new clothesline and had a tenant whinging about the landlord who didn't fix anything. They hadn't even been there a week and there was nothing to do except to install the clothesline. Clearly some tenants just want to whinge - good for them.
It doesn't worry me anymore if the tenant knows the landlord is coming to fix the problem. If they ask for extra stuff that wasn't there when they signed the lease I use the same approach as above and refer them back to the PM.
I believe a good PM is invaluable. It's not simply a time thing, even when I retire I will probably retain the services of a PM.
Regards
Andrew
I expect a PM to "be Prepared" {Baden Powell}
Hello all,
I expect a good PM to notice when a lease is coming up, when the tenant is going bad and to know what do do about it!
How to plan maintainance and have a good rapport with a group of trades(people). To attend professional development, be knowlegeable about landlord tenant act.
To be a good communicator (able to use an email, scan a pdf, and use skype)
to be mature enough, to have a heart, and to know it their gut when the wool is trying to be pulled.
To understand that an insurance policy is 'written in the negative'
and to be a good enough negotiator, not to have to end up in the tribunal!
I expect them to have their own investment properties.
Apart from that, I expect them to be able to have a wonderful life and a good rapport with their local community, and be well respected!
Hello all,
I expect a good PM to notice when a lease is coming up, when the tenant is going bad and to know what do do about it!
How to plan maintainance and have a good rapport with a group of trades(people). To attend professional development, be knowlegeable about landlord tenant act.
To be a good communicator (able to use an email, scan a pdf, and use skype)
to be mature enough, to have a heart, and to know it their gut when the wool is trying to be pulled.
To understand that an insurance policy is 'written in the negative'
and to be a good enough negotiator, not to have to end up in the tribunal!
I expect them to have their own investment properties.
Apart from that, I expect them to be able to have a wonderful life and a good rapport with their local community, and be well respected!
What do you seriously expect from people with limited experience on $45k per year and no uni qualifications in property??
The vast majority of resi property managers are not worth a pinch of ^&%$.
I've even had arguments with them over whether carpet had been steam cleaned or not, when clearly it hadn't, yet they insisted on swearing it had. I only "won" the argument when i pointed out to them i personally oversee a $500mil portfolio of premium/A-grade property for one of the largest companies in the world so i think i might just know a little bit more about property than they do!
Some of us are very qualified...most are not
Precisely!! and they usually don't have the relevant experience for maintenance or have investment properties - so their empathy levels are very low.
oh...
I'm happy that I don't fall into this catergory! B.Ec Sydney, CIV Training and Workplace Assessment, Fully lic. R.E agent, Interior Design - CATC, pending JP(Qual) + being a seminar and information junkie....
Precisely!! and they usually don't have the relevant experience for maintenance or have investment properties - so their empathy levels are very low.
oh...
I'm happy that I don't fall into this catergory! B.Ec Sydney, CIV Training and Workplace Assessment, Fully lic. R.E agent, Interior Design - CATC, pending JP(Qual) + being a seminar and information junkie....
oh...
Lura - If you are a fully lic REA and have all those qualifications, why would you be in prop management? Doesn't seem like too many rewards - griping from tenants, harassment from LL and pathetic amount of money.
Amadio - it seems that way doesn't it?
I come from a hospitality background (and wholesaling - many years ago prior to that, all in Sydney) I have also in between turning over businesses (flipping - buying them run down, doing them up, flogging them off) consulted to small hospitality businesses.
Property Management is a different avenue for me. It is challenging - yes. However, as I have assessed a lot of businesses in the past and decided I needed a business that will challenge me in and industry that is "stale" ie. full of established operators who are still doing the same thing they have been for the last 20 years whilst there is an under current of hi-tech change ( I can capitalise on this change)
I needed a business that enabled me to interact with people - property provides me with this. As much as there are complaints etc, it doesn't need to be - most of the time it is because of poor management.
I wanted a business model that will provide cashflow and maintain/grow capital - rent rolls are expensive and highly sought after.
I wanted a business that didn't hold stock (been there done that - in the wholesaling).
I have done Interior Design and renovated numerous properties - I love it. I can pass this experience and knowledge to my clients - FREE OF CHARGE. I know where to buy the better value items, what to buy with warranty what can be bought without warranty - saving my clients lots of money in the process while improving their yield and property value. Going off to a property this afternoon to measure and get quotes for the owner to renovate their kitchen
I have also been exposed to builders and other trades in this field as a property manager and as a business development manager updating clients when their properties are under construction with new house and land packages all over Brisbane - so I know a lot more than your normal property manager. I've sourced properties all over Brisbane and prepared investment feasibility reports for them, so I have a really good feel for the actual areas - actually visiting the areas, the schools, the shops, what councils are doing, who are the major private investors and what they are doing, planning to do, how much money is being poured into any area and the time frame...etc.
I'm handy - things I can do without thinking about- like the other day I siliconed around the sink for one of my owners - 5 min job for me, saved the owner best part of $50 with handyman callout - then I did around the basin as well while I was chatting with the tenant...these things make me feel good. I don't see it as a chore and I definately don't want the owner to pay good money for something so minor even though it was starting to leak throught the cabinetry.
I wanted a business without a huge number of staff - I have been there with high staff numbers (and all the associated problems) and the fewer I have to employ, the better. I wanted a business that I could control - property management is great, all the tools and all the systems inplace for me to manage the business.
I'm educated enough to understand and implement legislative changes and I have the qualifications to train and educate my clients as well as my customers and staff their rights and obligations in this area.
I wanted a business that wasn't going to keep me stuck behind a desk all day and not see the sunlight!
I could keep going on and on...but I hope you understand to some extent why I like this business.
I come from a hospitality background (and wholesaling - many years ago prior to that, all in Sydney) I have also in between turning over businesses (flipping - buying them run down, doing them up, flogging them off) consulted to small hospitality businesses.
Property Management is a different avenue for me. It is challenging - yes. However, as I have assessed a lot of businesses in the past and decided I needed a business that will challenge me in and industry that is "stale" ie. full of established operators who are still doing the same thing they have been for the last 20 years whilst there is an under current of hi-tech change ( I can capitalise on this change)
I needed a business that enabled me to interact with people - property provides me with this. As much as there are complaints etc, it doesn't need to be - most of the time it is because of poor management.
I wanted a business model that will provide cashflow and maintain/grow capital - rent rolls are expensive and highly sought after.
I wanted a business that didn't hold stock (been there done that - in the wholesaling).
I have done Interior Design and renovated numerous properties - I love it. I can pass this experience and knowledge to my clients - FREE OF CHARGE. I know where to buy the better value items, what to buy with warranty what can be bought without warranty - saving my clients lots of money in the process while improving their yield and property value. Going off to a property this afternoon to measure and get quotes for the owner to renovate their kitchen
I have also been exposed to builders and other trades in this field as a property manager and as a business development manager updating clients when their properties are under construction with new house and land packages all over Brisbane - so I know a lot more than your normal property manager. I've sourced properties all over Brisbane and prepared investment feasibility reports for them, so I have a really good feel for the actual areas - actually visiting the areas, the schools, the shops, what councils are doing, who are the major private investors and what they are doing, planning to do, how much money is being poured into any area and the time frame...etc.
I'm handy - things I can do without thinking about- like the other day I siliconed around the sink for one of my owners - 5 min job for me, saved the owner best part of $50 with handyman callout - then I did around the basin as well while I was chatting with the tenant...these things make me feel good. I don't see it as a chore and I definately don't want the owner to pay good money for something so minor even though it was starting to leak throught the cabinetry.
I wanted a business without a huge number of staff - I have been there with high staff numbers (and all the associated problems) and the fewer I have to employ, the better. I wanted a business that I could control - property management is great, all the tools and all the systems inplace for me to manage the business.
I'm educated enough to understand and implement legislative changes and I have the qualifications to train and educate my clients as well as my customers and staff their rights and obligations in this area.
I wanted a business that wasn't going to keep me stuck behind a desk all day and not see the sunlight!
I could keep going on and on...but I hope you understand to some extent why I like this business.
Lura, you sound like a really good PM.
It sounds like you could run a rent roll out of your house, get word of mouth recommendations and keep it tight and working well, but perhaps that would not be valuable like a rent roll would be attached to an agency. Is that right?
It sounds like (if you were not trying to build up a rent roll to sell later) you could make a pretty good living being a PM, and working from home. Are you planning on building up a good business and then selling the rent roll to an agency?
Perhaps there is a niche market here. It sounds like good PMs are as rare as hens teeth, so you could be like a boutique selling agency, except a boutique property manager.
If I wasn't self-managing I would ask you to manage for me because you sound like you know exactly what you are doing.
It sounds like you could run a rent roll out of your house, get word of mouth recommendations and keep it tight and working well, but perhaps that would not be valuable like a rent roll would be attached to an agency. Is that right?
It sounds like (if you were not trying to build up a rent roll to sell later) you could make a pretty good living being a PM, and working from home. Are you planning on building up a good business and then selling the rent roll to an agency?
Perhaps there is a niche market here. It sounds like good PMs are as rare as hens teeth, so you could be like a boutique selling agency, except a boutique property manager.
If I wasn't self-managing I would ask you to manage for me because you sound like you know exactly what you are doing.
Hi Wiley,
Thanks for the compliment - you know I am willing to share my knowledge in here anyway so you can always access me.
I don't intend to sell this business - I have generated much goodwill and I know that I am this business (as with my previous hospitality businesses), although it is a business I can delegate but still control...due the to systems I have implemented - so it satisfies my core business goal.
I like being hands on with my clients and I know all the properties inside out because it's my business to know this on my client's behalf.
