Hello all!
I am going to be renting out my PPOR shortly, and am quite shocked and dissapointed at the fees involved in getting an agent to manage my property for me.
I do realise that a lot of effort goes into managing a property, but i am in a low cashflow situation and i would like to give it a go myself.
Just wondering if anyone had any advice/suggestions, and any help on where to get appropriate paper work etc.
I am currently researching this myself, but any advice is good advice!
Cheers!
Lyndon
Over the past 4 years we have managed 2 investment properties ourselves. We downloaded all the forms off the web (can't remember the site now was we have just kept all the forms on our desktop) which makes it easy for both you and the tenant. It takes a little time and common sense to find the right tenant but certainly can be done and does save you money. The best advise that I can give you is when you find the right tenant, look after them in a professional way, so that they feel that they are still getting correct service and that you know what you are doing.
All the best.
What state are you in?
Here is a link to the SA forms http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/tenancies/forms.html#Fixed_Term_Agreement
I would have to caution against keeping them on your desktop becasue forms, regulations and legislation are not static! They change and you need to keep up with the current rules and latest forms. Outdated forms are not supported by the relevant tribunals and neither is doing things under a certain act that has now been amended.
Tenants know the rules and as a landlord you "should" know more than your tenants. That's where paying management fees can pay off but it is not difficult to keep up with legislation yourself if you wanted to. Not rocket science by any means!
http://www.thelandlord.com.au is a great site for those of us who want to manage our own properties. It has documents for all the states I believe. There is a fee but it's worth it compared to some of the useless property managers I've come across.
Just make sure you have landlords insurance.
I manage the houses that are nearby. Thus I get to do those little things like fixing a flyscreen or changing washers that an agent would get a tradey or handyman in for. I dont mind doing this cos it lets me keep an eye on the house and how well the tennants are looking after it.
goodluck
millyLyndon,
As mentioned above cheek out thelandloard.com.au.
As for advise, dont rent to friends or family!HI Lyndon
The Rental Bond Boards in each state plus Dept of Fair Trading in each state will have all the info you need and point you in the direction for the forms.
Intervew carefully, reference check carefully and inspect regularly and set the ground rules up front for what you expect – e.g. garden maintence is something that gets overlooked.
I've managed my own properties – mostly with good success. Good luck!
Regards
Hi there, We rented our ppor out for the past 18mths privately with no hassels. We are really open and up front with our tenant. I agree with all the above mentioned posts regarding checks, landlord.com etc. If you live close and can check in on the property then it makes for peace of mind. We really haven't done an awful lot during this tenants time in this house, he just direct deposits the rent into our account…its been simple and hassel free to date.
However we have another property in the same area that we used an agent for, because we left town and didn't have the time to find a tenant for etc. This has cost us about $35 per week in management fees, roughly, and I just spoke with the tenant last week and we are going to take this one over privately too now and pocket this money. The Property manager was slack and did not even do inspections every quarter!
Anyhow, its all a matter of preferance and at the end of the day we treat of tenants like clients. At Christmas we always give a bottle of wine to say thanks and out of the blue we have given movie tickets too. Treat them nicely and good things will flow. Good Luck finding the best possible tenants…..warm regards, Cresta76
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