Property Managers (cost and expectations)

Hi Ryno,

Welcome to this great place !! ;) And good for you for having #1 up and flying. It really is a great thing to celebrate.

Re what to expect from property managers? First, I have noted that payments between States seem to be wildly different, so why not share where your IP is, and the amount you ARE paying. That way, others might drop in with a comment based on THEIR property managers. I have had both good and bad.

The good ones just have everything ship-shape. They call you only if they need to – but will have already been in touch with you re “What $$ amount can they spend without having to check in with you?” Most of the time (with the good one) I would receive a 3 monthly “tour” letter – he had arranged an inspection, conducted it, took photos, wrote me a letter, and commented on his findings. The rest of the time, tenants money was in the bank, and the PM paid the Rates on my behalf.

The bad ones seem to be forever calling you, and, when they do, often with “bad” news. Seems they can’t handle anything without input from you. Give me someone who CAN DO property management, even if it costs a percent more.

Benny

My IPs are in Adelaide, and over the years have experienced varying levels of both fees and service. In SA 8.8%(GST inc.) seems to be the typical charge that I’ve seen. I’ve paid 11% before, but it was the agency that charged this premium rate where I received the worst service.

The biggest issues I’ve come across with Property Management agencies are:

1.They have a high turnover of staff. I was experiencing this with two agencies simultaneously, with as little as 3 months inbetween notification that my manager was leaving and a new one taking over. Now if changeover goes smoothly, there’s generally not a problem, but I’ve had issues with changeover notes not being read or understood properly, which has cost me money.

2.Having a property manager who is “soft”. Your property manager needs to be tough but fair, and should be working for YOU and not the tenant. If your property manager can’t deal with tenants effectively when issues arise, then it could very well leave you out of pocket. As an example, when I switched to my current property manager she did a walkthrough of one of my IPs where we had been having minor but ongoing issues with the tenants. Not only had the tenants failed to rectify the minor issues such as cleanliness right throughout the property, they had done some minor renovations to the property over the 6 years they were there without consent. They had also broken lease conditions in regards to pets. When they first applied for the house they had 2 large dogs which we agreed to but they were to stay outside. Not only did they allow the dogs in the house, they bought another puppy and 2 cats, all kept inside. Noone from the agency we had been using had notified us of this, nor did they notice during routine inspections that the animals had been urinating and defacating on carpets and window sills. And this was the agency that was charging the premium 11%! During cleanup the painter and carpet cleaner noticed these things immediately and reported this to my current manager.

The cleanup bill after turfing these tenants out topped $4k + $2k in lost rent. A good property manager would have had all these issues “nipped in the bud” immediately.

cheers
Pete