Did you know that recent changes to the residential tenancy support package in September mean that landlords who agree to a reduction of rent may claim up to $4,500 in support payments per tenancy agreement? As a landlord, it’s often difficult to keep up with paying the bills let alone dealing with tricky tenants, ever-changing regulations, and maintaining your property. That’s where a property management team comes in.
Property management teams stay up to date with changes in regulations. They can play a critical role in maintaining your property, ensuring you are complying with any regulations, and making sure you don’t miss out on any support payments that may be due to you! After all, if you’re a property investor, you’ll understand just how important it is to maximise profits and minimise outgoings. A property management team will help you do that.
Any property investor can benefit from having a property management team, but some investors can benefit more than others. Keep reading to find out why!
What is a property manager?
A property manager is just what it sounds like; someone to manage your investment property! Yet the role of a property manager has morphed into so much more than just a glorified rent collector.
Property management is a broad industry role with a wide range of responsibilities, such as:
- Maintaining the property while minimising maintenance costs
- Collecting rent and dealing with any collection issues or delays
- Vetting and acquiring new tenants when needed
- Mitigating liability, both with tenants and government, and keeping up to date with government rules and restrictions
- Managing bills for the landlord
- Preparing the property to be leased when necessary
Who can benefit from a property manager?
Any property investor can benefit from having a property management team, from busy parents to businesspeople, to investors who simply don’t like dealing with administration. However, these groups can benefit immensely from having one or more property managers:
- Investors with several properties to manage
- Anyone who doesn’t want to manage their investment properties due to preference or a lack of time
- Anyone looking to maximise rental profits over the long term
- Investors planning on acquiring more new properties
- Anyone who isn’t particularly organised or unable to keep up with government regulations
- Investors located in a different state or country to their property
- Anyone who is bad at marketing and unable to find the right tenants
- Investors who have had a bad experience finding reliable tenants in the past
Why do I need a property manager?
We’ve talked about some of the groups that can benefit the most from having a property manager, but the truth is that virtually any property investor can benefit.
Having a trusted property manager can help you:
- Conduct thorough tenant checks, meaning you won’t be approving tenants who are unreliable, messy, or damage your property. In turn, this can decrease tenant turnover and minimise your financial risk
- Avoid stress by not having to deal with fussy tenants or tenants who are simply having issues with the property. Remember this could be anything from a malfunctioning hot water system to noisy neighbours or issues with paying rent during a lockdown
- Abide by legislative requirements. These can change often and without warning, meaning they can be hard to keep up with. If you hire a property manager, they will do this on your behalf
- Increase your profits and reduce the risk of your investment. If you’re constantly having tenants move out, the property is unoccupied, or you’re spending all your time chasing tenants, your property starts to become far less profitable. Having a property management team means you’re less likely to have an unoccupied property
How do you find a good property management team?
So, you’ve decided you need to find a better property management team or hire one to begin with. But how do you find the right property manager for you?
Well, a skilled property manager has many different roles to fill. They need to be expert negotiators, be incredibly perceptive when it comes to selecting tenants, and be diligent with property maintenance. They also have access to an expansive network of the best local tradespeople around, allowing them to source a locksmith at the dead of night or find a plumber early on a Sunday morning! The best property managers will also have a wealth of experience about the property market and be up to date on the latest government regulations affecting the industry.
Boutique Property Agents have an expert property management team who offer an extensive range of services, from securing tenancies to thorough reference checks for tenants, as well as the coordination of all repairs, maintenance, defects and renovations, periodical rent reviews, detailed inspections, and much more. Our property management team is also agile and quick to adapt to our ever-changing times.
If you’re considering engaging a property manager, contact us to find out more. Or, if you’d like to stay in the loop, get regular Sydney property news here.
