Everybody has a story about a bad experience with a property manager. Whether it’s a neglected tenant or a landlord that is shocked to find their property hasn’t been cared for. It's never-ending. Now I understand why this is, and the answer is simple - too many properties and not enough property managers.
About 18 months ago we decided to take
the leap from being a busy ‘sales only’ office and hired a superb property
manager to start a brand new rent roll. Thankfully
- and through a lot of hard work - our rent roll has grown fast, and we
now have a property management department we are proud of.
The
typical agency model however, of having hundreds of
properties on a rent roll and one or two people managing it is plain madness.
Presiding over a rent roll is like being in air traffic control - lots of
things happening all at once and if you miss something it can turn into an
absolute disaster. Of course you have to make a profit, but when
things go wrong in this business they can go very wrong. And this should be
considered when you go to lease your property out.
If you are looking for an investment property
or already have one, then you need to be aware of the structure of the business
that is managing the property on your behalf.
Before appointing a property manager you should ask the agent for
references from current landlords. In fact, the best way to do this is to ask
for a list of rental properties and select two or three at random.
I’m surprised by how many people tell me they
aren’t happy with their property manager but don’t want to move the management
because it may upset the tenant! If you are not happy then your tenant is
probably unhappy as well.
If you cant find a good property
manager, manage it yourself and if you cant manage it yourself make
sure you find a good property manager.
David Murphy owns an independent real estate
agency in Sydney’s lower north shore – feel free to call ON 02 9968 2088 or email with questions david@davidmurphy.com.au
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