While most property investors spend a huge amount of effort and energy finding the right property to purchase, they rarely spend the time looking for a good property manager. This is asking for trouble! A good property manager is like an insurance policy on your investment. The main criteria most landlords use to select their managing agency is price alone. This is very short sighted. As the old saying goes ‘you get what you pay for’. A cheap rental real estate agency will typically be operated by over worked staff trying to manage hundred of properties, constantly chasing their tail to keep up with the basics. A dedicated property management agency will ensure that your investment property is thoroughly managed. Your property should receive a higher level of service; more time spent on tenant selection, market research and scheduled inspections. This will ensure that your property is looked after, leased to the most appropriate tenants and achieved the highest rental yield possible.

Some property owners even try to manage their property themselves assuming that property management is simply collecting rent. Property manager’s job is much more than this. A good property manager should:

-          Understand the current local real estate market, market forces and how to market your property effectively.

-          Price the rent on your property at the right level to quickly rent out investment.

-          Perform thorough tenant checks and background checks.

-          Write up a comprehensive lease to protect the landlord.

-          Lodge a bond on behalf of the landlord, to the authorities.

-          Handle all repairs on the property, using only qualified tradesmen.

-          Pay insurances, council rates and outgoing on behalf of the property owner.

-          Keep up to date on complex and constantly changing legal issues.

Below is a list of 10 questions you should ask your property management agency before signing up for their services.

Is the real estate agency a specialised property management firm? Many real estate agencies offer property management as an after thought to the sales team. Property managers are seen as unimportant and are often overworked, looking after much too many properties badly instead of a smaller number effectively. Does the agency have local real estate knowledge and experience? Local rental market knowledge is critical in achieving the lowest vacancy rates and achieving the maximum rental price. Will I receive regular updates on my property? A good property management agency should keep the landlord well informed about their investment at all stages of the leasing process. Will I be assigned one dedicated property manager to deal with? Make sure that you are assigned only one property manager to deal with so that you can achieve an open and communicative relationship. Will my property manager attend court on my behalf? Your rental property manager should manage all aspects of your rental property, including attending court on your behalf if need be. How many properties do your property managers manage? Some mainstream agencies assign up to 300 properties to their property managers. This is much too many for an effective job to be done. Regular inspections, negotiating the best rent, keeping up to date with the property market all take a lot of time and energy. At most we suggest that 100 is the maximum properties a rental agent can effectively manage. Does your agency make regular rental increases on your property? A good property manager should be informed about the rental market and understand what the optimum rent achievable is for your house, unit or apartment. Is the managing director/rental agency owner involved in the property management agency on a day-to-day basis? A well-run rental real estate agency should have the director highly involved in the day to day running of the business. Do you do thorough checks on potential tenants to avoid my house/unit being rented out to bad tenants? All investment property owners should be informed about all lease applicants and their background before deciding on who are the best tenants to lease their property too. Is your agency up to date with the latest Internet advertising media? With all sort of social media around now days, it wpould be waste not to take advantage of these advertising avenues. Make sure your agent is maximising your properties exposure, therefore minimising your vacancy rates.

Just Rent Sydney would answer yes to all of the above!

Just Rent Sydney can handle the transfer of your rental property from your current real estate agency over to us without you having to be involved, making the transition seamless and easy.

Make the smart move.

When you are renting out your ancestral property, care should be taken to safeguard your rented property. You can allay your worries about your rented property by availing rented property insurance. Based on the type of house, age of the house, your credit score and other things, the price of the insurance policy and its coverage provided can greatly vary. You may loose several pounds in rental income and legal expenses to claim for your rent in case your tenants default on your rental payment. To avoid this, you can opt for rental guarantee insurance.

Every landlord has a substantial investment in their home or land that they cannot afford to lose. They also have very little control over the amount of physical damage that renters can incur on their investment. Hence, there’s a need for property insurance.

In addition to that, insurance providers also offer insurance on rented property to protect your buildings, the equipment, inventory, furniture and fixtures. It also protects you and your possessions when you are away from home. Basically extending to all your possessions no matter where you are. You worked so hard to acquire everything you own. Be sure to benefit from positive cash flow by protecting your investment.

Get covered for any property damage in the event of a natural calamity such as flood, fire or lightning strike out. In addition to this, any damage caused by your tenants, and cost of relocating property to protect it from further loss. If you are looking out to safeguard content in your rented property, then, you need to avail a special insurance known as Content insurance. Claim can be made if you have an adequate inventory, listing out all the things that are missing or damaged in your house. Some have a comprehensive package, which includes combined insurance policies such as building and content insurance for landlords. This way you get coverage for both your exterior as well as interior contents of your house.

 

Reach out an online quote system which will help you get your quotes in just a few clicks. It is quite vital for a homeowner to get a quote before purchasing any policy. Shopping around for the most competitive rate with a comprehensive package is wise and can only be done by getting multiple rates from multiple agencies. Find out from experts online, on how they can assist you in protection of your rented property.

Hiring a property management company could save your life, or at least your sanity.  For some people, they are just too fed up and tired of being landlords.  Others never even thought of being an active landlord and always planned on having their properties managed for them.

Property management companies can help you reclaim your personal time by taking over the active responsibilities of being a landlord.  A couple examples of property management services are: showing the property, tenant screening and selection, rent collection, and maintenance.  All you have to do is sit back and they send you the rent.  But, isn’t that why you got into rental real estate to begin with?  To earn that glorious passive income everyone dreams about, to make money without having to work for it?

Fortunately there are people and firms to relieve you of all those landlord duties…for a small fee of course.  The typical property manager collects between 6% and 10% of the gross rents as payment for taking over your responsibilities.  The higher the number, the more quality service you should demand and expect.

One great place to start looking for a property manager is the local yellow pages for your area.  Another good way is to take a look around town while your driving.  Many times you will see signs for property management companies in front of buildings, on apartment signs, and even in the classified ads section of your newspaper.  You’ll often find a management firm doing the listings for their rental properties in the local newspaper.  If you see the same management companies name appearing in the majority of the rental ads, they’re probably a good company to contact first.

If you’re a member of your local Real Estate Investment Association (REIA) you can always ask for recommendations on which management company to work with.  Just remember, you should always interview each potential property manager or firm before deciding to let them manage your properties.  Some important questions to ask are:

1.  How long have they been in business?

2.  What property types are their areas of expertise?

3.  What is their management fee?

4.  How will they communicate with you?

5.  Do they have their own maintenance personnel, or do they contract a handyman?

6.  What do they charge for maintenance and upkeep, such as repairs and landscaping?

7.  How much in reserve funds do they require in case something comes up?

8.  How do they handle evictions and vacancies?

9.  What does it take to terminate the agreement if necessary?

10.  Where do they advertise the properties?

11.  How often will they be sending you profit and loss statements?

12.  When will they be sending the check to you?

13.  Can you get some references to check them out?

Depending on how comfortable you are with the answer to the above questions, you may have found yourself a new property manager.  It’s best to interview more than one individual or firm to make sure you find the right fit.