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.

Harris County Appraisal District assesses property and that value sets your property tax amount. Reducing your property taxes is relatively simple but requires a modest commitment of time. Your other option is to hire a property tax consultant. Basic steps to reducing the property tax assessment set by Harris County Appraisal District include appealing both market value and unequal appraisal annually, obtaining the Harris County Appraisal District evidence, preparing for the hearing(s) and attending the informal and/or appraisal review board hearing. Few property owners are aware of the option to obtain the HCAD evidence. Sometimes referred to as the House Bill 201 package or 41.461 package, this information in invaluable in preparing for your property tax hearing. This article focuses on the hearing process. There are two options for the “administrative” hearing process at Harris County Appraisal District: 1) the informal hearing and 2) the appraisal review board (ARB) hearing. Neither the property owner nor Harris County Appraisal District is required to attend the informal hearing. About 80% of property tax protests are resolved by agreement between the property owner/property tax consultant and the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser. The second option, which typically occurs if you are not able to reach agreement with the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser, is the ARB hearing. The property owners often receive some property tax relief at the ARB hearing. Harris County Appraisal District appraisers seldom reduce the assessed value for a home by $100,000 or more. If you are seeking a reduction of more than $100,000 for a home, you should probably skip the informal hearing with the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser. There are several reasons for skipping the informal hearing at HCAD if you are seeking an increase of $100,000 or more. It will likely be a waste of your time. Further, you spend your time helping the HCAD appraiser to prepare their file for the ARB hearing.Make sure you arrive early for the hearing and try to project a cheerful, cordial and relaxed attitude, even if you are nervous. After you check in with the Harris County Appraisal District clerk, you will likely wait for 30 – 60 minutes. Bring a book, newspaper or work to pass the time. Greet the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser cheerfully and enthusiastically. His goal is similar to yours; reach a compromise quickly. At Harris County Appraisal District, the appraisers are encouraged to make changes if there is evidence to support the change. The exception is unequal appraisal. Most Harris County Appraisal District appraisers are reluctant to make changes on unequal appraisal evidence. HCAD’s approach on unequal appraisal is in flux. However, if your appeal is on unequal appraisal, you will likely need to attend the ARB hearing.After you exchange and discuss evidence with the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser, he will likely make you an offer to settle the property tax protest. You can accept the offer or continue the appeal with the ARB hearing. In most cases the value offered informally will also be suggested by the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser at the ARB hearing. Property owners are often reluctant to attend the appraisal review board (ARB) hearing because they think they are wasting their time with such a small property. This is not the case. Harris County ARB members are courteous, respectful and want the property owner to feel good about the ARB hearing. Players at the ARB hearings include the 3 ARB members, property owner (or property tax consultant) and the Harris County Appraisal District appraiser. After introductions and a brief explanation of the process:



Property owner presents evidence

Questions from ARB members

Harris County Appraisal District appraiser presents their evidence

Questions from the ARB

Property owner rebuttal

Questions from the ARB

ARB panel deliberates and announces a decision In most cases, property owners believe the decision was reasonable. The decision is not subject to negotiation. Thank the ARB members for their time and service. If you are not satisfied with the decision, you can pursue binding arbitration or a judicial appeal.

If you are considering the possibility of buying or renting property in Playa del Carmen, you should know that there are many different Playa del Carmen Real Estate web sites out there that allow you to view more than one property at a time. This is a great arrangement because it does not limit you to the properties that are listed by just one Real Estate agent or company, but instead allows you to see properties from all over Mexico . The way this works is that these Real Estate web sites have agreements with property owners in which they are paid a commission in the event that they find someone to rent or buy a Property in Playa del Carmen or anywhere else in Mexico . As with any type of industry, there are some agents in this industry who are really honest and good at what they do, and there are some agents who do not follow ethical business practices.

The biggest problem for someone who is considering whether to go through with buying or renting a Property in Playa del Carmen, is that they usually find that they have a difficult time figuring out which agents are good and honest. Choosing the wrong agent to help you with buying or renting Real Estate in Playa del Carmen can be a very costly mistake, so this can be very scary for a person who is interested in buying or renting property in Playa del Carmen. Dishonest agents are also very bad for the rental agents out there who are professional and honest because it gives the industry a bad reputation, and therefore should always be reported to the local authorities. Try to get references of long serving and ethical real estate agents from your friends, colleagues, relatives and lawyers familiar with area. You should always keep in mind that this is not typically a problem when you are dealing with the hotel industry, because there are so many places that people are very familiar with, which forces agents to be more honest. However, this type of familiarity does not exist in the vacation home rental or buying business because there are so many places out there for rent and for sale that they are owned by thousands of different people.

So the next time you are scouting for best property in Playa del Carmen for investment or leisure, double check if the real estate agent has a good reputation in Playa del Carmen.

Author: Tom Budniak