Property Inspections are usually agreed to when the Management is signed up.So if you purcahrs with a managment ask them for their rules. Regardless of whether the managemtn is with a REINZ member or Private Property Managemtn. Usual is on entry and exit of tenant and that should be NO CHARGE. The norm after that is every 3 or 4 months although some request every 6 months. If a tenant appears to be very good after the first inspections then the time can be extended by about 4 weeks. Recently had a property that had NOT been inspected for 6 months as the tenants kept the place immaculate. When I went through found there were 4 black little holes in the shower base. How did that happen and how long been there. Tenant said she hadn’t noticed them. The water was going through the base. LUckily under the base in this house was a concrete floor. If it had have been an upstairs bathroom could have been a different result. Problem was the shower base it self is faulty. So I do ALL of mine eery 3 months now. The costs of these inspections vary. SOme REINZ have a no charge policy others vary from $20.00 + GSt to $60.00 + GSt. If the proeprty has a lot of chattels included then an inspection takes a lot longer than a totaly unfurnished basic place.
If you are in the same town as the Property Manager you could request that you go with them on their next inspection. Keeps everybody on their toes then???? And yes ask for info about the application forms if you like. Not so much because you make the decision but just monitoring the Management until you feel totally comfortable with them. Some REINZ companies allocate 15 mins per property others take as long as is needed and reports are available if you request.
Aak for a photo of the property ( could cost you more) at the time of inspection so you can see if the exterior at least looks OK. Not every time but occasionally.

Wraps or Rent to Buys or Lease Options are similar but all have different legal curlies.
Many people have done them here especially after a John Burley courese or Boot camp.
The main hurdle was the BANKS and GST.
The banks were VERY uncomfortable lending to an owner and then finding out that the Payments were made by a third party and the third party had an interest in the proeprty but were not named on the title. Some people got into wraps as they would claim the GST on purchase date and then sort of forgot that they had to pay GST when they sold it and the GST would be more as the price was higher. So there have been issues and opposition but you can do it. Most people that I know who have doen it are getting out or not doing any more. In a rising price market why settle a price for someone else to beenfit from when you could onsell for a higher price. Every technique has it’s day. And Wraps may be good in a flat or dropping market but no so in a rising market.

Property Managers who are part of a Real Estate Coy charge from 6% for more than 3 properties to 8.5% for a single property. Some charge 10% which includes 3 monthly inspections and no charge for Tribunal Time. All of these charges plus GSt so whatever the rate is for Managemt is the rate charged for R&M as well.
A member of a Real Estate coy can charge a tenant a weeks rent plus gst as a letting fee. This is illegal for Managers who are not in the Real Estate industry( until the law changes within the next 12 months) so they may also charge landlord a ‘find a tenant fee’
Other charges can be Property Inspection fees from $0 to $20 to $35 upwards.
In Some areas the PM’s deserve 10% as the properties attract the types of tenants that need a lot of time. In monitoring or replacing tenants etc.
How do I know? I have worked as a PM in REal Estate coys and now work as a private PM.
If a landlords priority is ‘make the money’ then I won’t deal with them. Yhis is a customer based business and the customers are the tenants and the landlords. TO make it work well need good landlorda and good properties to attract good tenants. I know that for some ‘the figures’ are all that matters but that may be false economy if you get high turnaround of tenants.
As in any business there are good, bad & ugly.
For some it is just get them into the place and get the letting fee ( againa & Again) Others know that getting a good tenants saves time, costs and retains a good relationsip with the landlord who just may have another few properties which need to be manadged. A PM who is more than 30 min drive from you Investment may not always be the best option as they won’t alway be available to show tenants a property and so the place can be empty for longer than you want. Downtime costs more than management fees. So perhaps look for a company closer to the Investment. If a PM handles more than 50 -60 proeprties without help ( like pa or accounts person) then they won’e be doing a good job. Anyone manageing 200 properties how do they handle the inspeftions ( unless they pay someone else to do it) 200 every 3 months = 1000 inspections per year which equals 83 inspeftions per month = 4 per working day each month. Do they have time for anything else?
For a Pm to raise their fees there should be a review clause in the original agreement and if there is not agreement then you don’t have to give them a month’s notice just get the bond assigned to another PM.
I agree that PM can make or break your investment.