Why You Need A Property Manager

As the owner of a rental property, it is in your interest to manage it professionally. A property manager will not only save you money and time but will ensure your asset is protected.

You’ve made the investment and purchased your first investment property. Now, as soon as you find a tenant and sign a lease agreement, you become a landlord. It’s a satisfying feeling, owning a revenue-generating asset as safe as a rental property, isn’t it?

Strictly speaking, there’s nothing legally preventing you from managing your property yourself. After all, why pay someone else to do what you can easily do yourself?

But there’s more to managing a rental property than you might think. Let’s take a look at the things that need to be done if your new asset is going to perform properly for you.

Finding a good tenant.

Not just any tenant, but a good one – a stable person or family who has a steady job and seeks a comfortable place to call home. Finding this person or family requires scrutinizing the potential applicants against a set of criteria that has been developed from experience of having made many tenant placements.

Collecting rent professionally.

Doing it yourself, you could ask your tenant to deposit the rent into your bank account each month and hope that it all goes without a hitch. A professional property manager will set up a direct debit payment system making rent collection automatic and fully documented, ready for your accountant at year’s end.

When something goes wrong.

By far the biggest cause of disputes between landlords and tenants is the failure to pay rent on time. There can be many causes for this – people’s lives do not always run smoothly. But under the Residential Tenancies codes of conduct, the only way a dispute can be resolved legally is at a hearing of the Tribunal (VCAT).  A property manager will represent you at a Tribunal hearing and make sure your interests are protected. It’s a small price to pay to ensure your cashflow is protected.

Regular inspections.

To ensure your property is being looked after well by your tenant, you are allowed to carry out regular inspections, usually every 6-12 months. You cannot just turn up and demand to inspect the property. A property manager will arrange this and carry out an inspection using a standard checklist. Your tenant will not resist an inspection when it is done professionally by an agent and you will be given a fully detailed report that shows not only that the tenant is treating your asset properly but will bring to your attention anything that needs fixing which is your responsibility.

Paying bills.

Your property manager will also take care of things like paying bills for rates and taxes, insurances and some maintenance items. You could handle all these yourself without an agent, but if you have a good property manager, nothing will be missed and you will have full accountability for all expenses paid, saving you time and money.

In summary, your investment property is a valuable asset that makes you money. The fees you pay to a professional property manager will be in the range of 5% to 12% (usually around 7%) of the gross rental income.

A property manager will save you money by not letting small things become big issues. And make you money by ensuring that your revenue-generating asset is operating at peak efficiency protecting the value in your property.

If you’d like to know more about how a property manager can add value to your investment, contact Resimax Group Investor at investors@resimaxgroup.com.au