I would be grateful for some thoughts on what is a fair price to pay for an agent to manage an 2BR unit in St Kilda, Melbourne. I would say it’s worth at least $250 (very conservative) per week.
I have interviewed a few agents so far and there has been a larger than expected range in quotes given for:
– Upfront letting fees (1 week’s rent up to $1K!)
– Ongoing management fees (6-8%)
– Advertising costs ($100 – $500)
– Anticipated rent ($230-$320)Naturally, if you have a similar property in St Kilda, I’d love you to post a reply but other informed opinions would be appreciated.
I also would welcome people’s experiences of renting their property out to friends. Everyone has ‘heard’ a horror story but I don’t think that’s enough reason to not even consider the idea.
Regardless of whether my friend rents it or not, I will have it managed to reduce hassles for both of us. To clarify, ending the lease won’t create a problem as I will be moving back in two years and my friend is well aware of this.
Naturally, I don’t have to fork out for letting fees and advertising that would be great but it’s not ALL about the money, right?
Thanks in anticipation.
Stanners
Hi Stanners,
why do you need a property manager if you already have the tenant?
I think the problem with a friend is that it may be difficult to increase rents if you need to. If it is only going to be short term (2 years), then there is no problems of ongoing rental increases on a “friend”
Property managers vary considerably in price and especially efficiency. Find one that is recomended.
I have a list of questions on my website to ask a prospective property manager, but the site is down this week due to some tech problems, I would be happy to send you an attachement of questions if you email me.
[email protected]Investment Property Management
http://www.adprop.com.auHi Stanners77
I also have an IP in St Kilda, a 3br house which is rented for $450 per week. I use an agent based in Elwood and their fees are:
Letting fee: 1.5 weeks rental + GST
Management fee 7% of rental + GST
Advertising costs: approx $250Apart from a couple of other minor fees these are the main costs. I have to admit i did not do my research with letting agents (aside from asking a few friends what fees they pay). I used this agency as a buyers agency to purchase the property (i’m based in the uk) and was very happy with them so have continued to use them to manage the property. Would rather do it myself but not an option just now. They seem efficient and organised though so it works well.
Smerf77
I guess a lot depends on not just the price but the level of service that you are after. While it may not be so important when a friend is living there, when it comes to strangers moving into your home its good to have an agent on your side that is going to put in the work to find you the right tennants that will not only pay the rent but look after your property as well. I have found that Wilson Pride in Elwood have been very thorough in the past in checking all references and doing inspections as well as taking a photo of a problem and emailing it to me if I wanted to get a quote to get something fixed. I honestly can’t remember what their fees were though, but sometimes its worth paying a bit more.
In your case it sounds like you may not even need a property manager unless its a case of not enought time to manage it yourself. So you could always get a private lease agreement drawn up, directly between yourself and your tennant.
Cheers,
Ana
My website is operational again, if you want to have a look at pm fees just as a comparison, please feel free to do so.
I only operate in SA otherwise I would have been happy to chat with you specifically about your property [biggrin]
Investment Property Management
http://www.adprop.com.au
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