What is the role of property management Company

A property manager is someone (or a company) which manages properties for investors. They take on the legal responsiblities of the owner acting as their agent in regards to an agreed scope of matters pertaining to the property. Their works may include finding a tenant (marketing/inspections/lease negotiations/fielding offers etc), lease preparation (for commercial/retail leases less than 3 years duration), undertake rental appraisals, lease management including rent reviews, administration of make good, attending to minor maintenance issues, collecting the rent & outgoings (usually via direct deposit), paying disbursements (outgoings & other costs), paying the owner the balance (less their commission), undertaking regular inspections of properties under management, following up unpaid rent, evicting tenants, appearing at tribunals where disputes arise etc all on behalf of the owner.

Larger/full service companies also undertake the facilities management (regular or programmed maintenance including providing fire safety certificates, servicing of plant and equipment, undertaking cleaning of common areas, waste removal etc) or the asset management which includes cost planning, asset life cycle cost analysis, creating plans of management and maintenance, project management of upgrades and refurbishment, they may also advise on occupancy issues, compliance requirements, cashflow analysis and modelling.

All in all they do very little but may add great value as they nave a skill set that many investors do not have or are too small to have the inhouse expertise.

Hi Judith,

You should also know that most landlord's insurance policies require the property to be professionally managed by a licenced property manager. Otherwise you might find that any protection you thought you had under your landlord's policy is not valid.

Cheers,
BrisInvestor

All i would say is interview the agent just like you would someone who is coming to work for you. The amount of horror stories I heard in Real Estate about property management and tenants would turn your stomach. Make sure that they are completing their property condition reports (PCR) on time and you get told how it went straight away.

Also most agents take pictures now days so you can view what your property looks like.

I would also recommend giving a good agent the power to fix minor things in the house. ie give them a budget of up to say $500 and if its any more than that they have to contact you.