I have just purchased my second property and i plan to rent out both properties and take a holiday over seas for a year. Do you recommend i rent through a real estate agent or are there better alternatives, just looking for some advice, and if you think a real estate agent is the best do you know who would be the best i live in melbourne, thank you.
Hi
My advice is to not use a real estate agent, but to find a property manager whose sole business is property management. Most real estate agents have property management as a sideline to their main business of selling. Where as a property manager relies on doing a good job for you to stay in business.As an aside, I have recently returned from a 3 yr stint overseas and used a property manager in Qld for out IPs and had no troubles through out that time.
Cheers
PaulOS
Hi,
I think that Paul makes a good point about r/e agents.
Most r/e agents business bread and butter is their rent-roll. However, it generally seems that they take their clients (landlords) for granted.
Personally I would not leave my assets in the hands of just anyone. I would certainly do my due diligence about quality of staff, cost etc.
Also, take the perspective of your tenant too. If you are OS and something urgent needs doing, then your tenant will not want to wait days while the agent contacts you.
I’d recommend that when you find an agent you like / trust… empower them to make decisions up to a maximum amount… say $500 for any single matter and then deduct it from the rent.
Finally, if the properties are +ve cashflow, I’d also consider paying 100% of the debt so that when you come back in 2 years, you come back to increased cashflow and less money owing.
Regards,
Steve McKnight
**********
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Hi Benny, I’m based overseas and I have my properties with a real estate agent. I have had no problems and they also know the type of properties I like to buy and always keep me informed when ever anything comes on the market. If you don’t plan on anymore investments while overseas I would go with Paul’s idea of a property manager. Make sure you do your homework and ask if they have any clients that can talk on their behalf. A good property manager always has clients that are prepared to speak on their behalf. I spoke to 3 property managers and 4 real estate agents before I decided with who to leave my initial properties with.
C
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