Hi Jack.
Your opinion on financial matters and predictions sound well informed and delivered with enthusiasm and passion.

I support your right to have an opinion on the topic and to express it,

but your comments about me are unpleasant, personal and not welcome.

Forumites discuss issues, are encouraged to post their comments about issues
in order to stimulate debate about issues to exchange information to help each other.

I post on this forum to help others, to contribute, keep the numbers up, but not to invite comments of a personal nature.

Focus on the topic please.

Cheers
thecrest

3-4 months of rent commission equals the relet fee. Even a month or 2 of vacancy before a relet is more profitable for a REA than full time occupancy. Crunch the numbers yourself on one of your own properties and see how long it takes the REA to earn the equivalent amount of relet fees in commission.

BTW – I should’ve mentioned in my post that the single most prevalent annoying damaging shortcoming of PMs and staff is definately poor communication – not enough feedback to property owners or none at all.

2nd place should go to PMs poor decisions – due to either lack of knowledge or poor attitude.
3 rd place is No.1 again, either buck passing, the mushroom deal or dead silence, because they don’t want you to know about No.2.

Try to find a PM where it’s a clean rent roll, not full of lousy properties which attract problematic tenants – that PM will be too busy trying to deal with dubious tenants who also resent paying rent for poorly maintained properties, and landlords who resent spending money.
Also look for a low number of properties per staff member, as close to 100 as possible, depending on the quality. Remember, in terms of a PMs workload, 100 lousy properties is like 300 good ones. Taking it to the extreme to make the example easy to understand, – If your PM is handling heaps of properties for “slumlords” in a severely socio-economically challenged geographical area, don’t expect the PM to have much time to look after your property.

Good luck
Cheers
thecrest

Requirements for a good PM dept.
Property management is a people business.
Success requires quality and quantity.

1. QUANTITY – SUFFICIENT STAFF.
It doesn’t matter how willing, able or professional staff might be, without sufficient staff to handle the workload then everything suffers – staff burnout n turnover, work not done, work quality declines, customer service declines, downward spiral, it’s only a matter of time.
2. QUALITY – PROFESSIONAL STAFF.
Property management is challenging, without professional staff with the right attitude it becomes a big drama every day.
With professional staff, it is profitable in itself, supports the Agency sales dept in lean times, and provides sales listings on a plate.
PMs take a big load off landlords’ shoulders.

If an agency is – adequately staffed, and the PM under-performs, then the PM is not professional.
If the agency is not adequately staffed, then the PM under-performs, then the service is not professional.
It’s not rocket science.

Anything else is just detail, because if an Agency has sufficient professional staff, the job gets done properly,
and everyone’s happy. Did my hard yards as a PM, once was enough for me.

Cheers
thecrest

Thanks christianb, love that comment, that’s a keeper.

Guessing where CG will be highest is challenging in these times.
Buying below market value on strong fundamentals seems more like “investing” to me than guessing or punting.

Don’t banks demonstrate their forecasting on future interest rates by the positioning of their fixed interest rates relative to their variable rates?
That being the case, it should be easier to forecast buyer demand, which affects prices.

Looks to me like Australia is as well placed to handle GFC #2 as it was to handle GFC#1 , and even better perhaps after experiencing one so recently. Less knee jerk reaction is likely, and human reaction is what makes and perpetuates a recession.

Wish my capital hadn’t been so tied up recently, could’ve bought some blue chip stocks cheaply, some banks were down just on sentiment. Oh well, live n learn.

Cheers
thecrest

Hi Rusty05
If the Forum structure had a “Like” button, I just hit it for your post.
Cheers
thecrest

PS Attention Forum Administrator – please add a “Like” button to posts, if you can.

Go Jenny. The value of meeting and mixing with like minded people is hard to measure, but it motivates us and validates our goals n dreams. The costs are minor compared with just about anything you do in real estate.
Have a great time while you pursue your goals..
Cheers
thecrest

This is a very good post and intriguing question.
The contract to pay for the installation of this different type of system and hence trigger the rebate to that person might be the key.

The question is : whose right to the rebate is superior – the property / equipment owner or the electricity consumer ??

Another landlord vs tenant claim has been born.
I guess the equipment you bought generates the extra elec hence the rebate, not someone’s occupation or electricity consumption.

Suggestions. Carefully read the contract between you and the electricity supplier to see who it says has the entitlement to the rebate and why –
” the property or equipment owner ” being the person who contracted and paid for the installation and equipment, or
” occupant, consumer etc” being the person whose name will be on the electricity account and who will be living there, consuming electricity, and presumably paying the bill.

If the consumer / occupant / tenant can successfully lay claim to the rebate, and tenancy advocates will most certainly try,
then we have a new scenario for landlords, and good reason to increase rent.

If the rebate entitlement belongs to the property owner / original buyer of the system, does it transfer to a new property owner ?

Hopefully the entitlement to the rebate can be separated from the bill with a tenanted property and paid to the property owner.
Just my thoughts.

Cheers
thecrest

Couldn’t you request the electricity supplier re-direct that bonus to the property owner (yourself) ?
Hope so. Sounds like a brand new can of worms.
Cheers
thecrest