Different Property Management

Has anyone used them? Feedback would be highly appreciated

 

Hello Singhalyash, yes we switched to Different last year - 4 properties in 2 states. Our experience, as with most property managers started off great - they promised the earth and then became pretty "Indifferent".

The concept is great - a true disruptor, digital platform, competitive monthly management fees. They are probably OK if you have one very standard rental property, but our experience has been that when things get a bit harder (ie trying to organise quotes for painting, landscaping, floor sanding etc), they are hopeless, unresponsive and completely uncontactable as you have to go through their portal. They also have a deemed approval within 48 hours for any tenant request - great for tenants, but it you miss the request or want time to do your own research etc, it's not ideal - several times we've found ourselves paying large bills for items which we would not have approved. So you need to be hyper-vigilant at all times and constantly checking their portal as they are very quick to spend your money for you!

We have been really frustrated with their lack of responsiveness, the fact that you don't have a property manager who you can contact (you get routed to a series of 'departments' such as leasing, maintenance etc) and if you want to speak to anyone, you need to 'schedule' a call, often 3-5 days in advance. If you need anything, you can't just pick up the phone like you can with a dedicated property manager. Some back-end support seems to come out of Sri Lanka, but those folks have been more responsive than anyone we have dealt with in Australia.

The final straw for us was recently rejecting a cleaning bill for $100 (as the property had been cleaned 2 weeks earlier on tenant exit, it had been inspected by Different and signed off as clean with the bond then returned). Different went ahead and organised the clean anyway as 'the benchtops were dusty', and when we questioned why they had spent our money, specifically against our instructions, we were told that they were 'using their initiative' (and it took 6 days for us to get this response from them!). Another 6 days on and we are waiting to complain to someone and hopefully get our $100 back, and again have had to 'schedule' a call with them next week to discuss (3 weeks after the issue occurred).

I think the lesson here is that sometimes, you get what you pay for

 

So what they said they'd do, they didn't do?

After you get your refund, they should be toast.

But in fairness they should have the opportunity to offer their view for, say, the next 7 days, from the date of this post, to all PChat members.

 

DO NOT use them. I have experienced pain by using them and especially the communication.

There is unwell structure internally and information disconnection from Leasing team and Property Management team. For any info I need to coordinate on both division and no idea why they are not sharing the customer info internally (e.g key swipes)

Also, communication sucks as I keep follow up and nobody update me (no care about me). All responding takes forever. There is no way to chat to speak to the person for immediate action. As being the owner, I highly recommend not even think about giving a go, unless you want to giving yourself hard hard time ooooops...
Their consultant talks one version when asking me join and failed to deliver all commitment. It's way hard to find a proper property management team.

 

I'm yet to see a 'disruptor' style approach to property management be effective.

There are a lot of processes in property management that can and should be very systemised using a variety of approaches including technology, virtual assistants, etc. Many of the functions around receiving payments and paying bills is a simple example of this.

There is also a high component of hands on approach and exertise required. Inspections, repairs and there's a high degree of people management. This can't be done by a computer, it needs a human who understands the wholistic picture and knows how to resolve the issues that come up.

Good property managers are well worth paying for.

 

Property management = people management plus problem solving with some project management, negotiation, legislation and strategy thrown in. I don't think it can be successful long term model without continuity and experience. Its not a matter of completing and outsourcing a number of separate processes that aren't related to each other, which is what the Different model seems to assume.

 

DO NOT USE THEM ! Literally the worst PMs I have used in the 15 years of property ownership.
I recently took them to NCAT and LOST ! the low fee structure actually played to their advantage and the tribunal member ruled in their favour saying as long as they collected rent and paid me - they did their job.
A list of the issues on a basic 2 bed apartment as a rental property:
- maintenance works were not completed correctly
- no property manager to contact
- no timeline to complete works
- cost me 10 weeks of lost rent waiting for maintenance to be completed to rent property
- the contractor and different kept the front door keys to force me to pay an invoice for incomplete works and the invoice was NOT overdue
- they never inspected any works - I will say aside from the inspections no one ever actually visits your property (they ask contractors for photos)
- They did not pay invoices for contractors - I had people contacting me 6 months later for payment.
- double paid some contractors
-refused to refund or cover any additional cost to you
- when issues raised they literally ignore you or respond but never address the actual issue.
- don't bother contacting the owners - the fish rots form the head - they don't care
- owners are from Uber / Google - and completely not customer focused.
- A whole lot of empty promises.
IF THERE IS EVER A GROUP LEGAL CASE I WOULD HAPPILY JOIN !

 

. Sorry to hear about your experience

 

Thanks for sharing the experience since i also been thinking to switch my property management to Different.

 

the old adage "pay peanuts, get monkeys" seems to ring true here

 

Different property management should be avoided if you value your sanity. Here's my post from another thread on them.
Property Manager "Different"


I would join any class action as I've had to demolish a house they were managing, due to delays in getting tradesman to rectify water leaks from a shower, the consequent water damage affected the foundation of the house and structural integrity. The demolition and rebuild of the house is going to cost me ~$700k.

 

I picked up a couple of managements from Different this week and I'm mortified by their maintenance expenses. Looks to be at least 50% more than they should be! I can only assume the tradies are charging whatever they want since the Sri Lanka based team are looking after maintenance.

Examples:
$150 to repair a towel rail (we had a handyman do towel rail and toilet roll holder for $75)
$241 to replace a single downlight (we last had a LED oyster replaced for $180)
$533 to replace aircon remote
$220 to change 2 light bulbs (not even owner responsibility)

I think this really outweighs any savings in their management fees.

 

Gosh it seems I had a lucky escape. I nearly signed up with them 2 years ago. So sorry to hear about others who have been persuaded by their slick sales engine.

 

Just saw these in their Google reviews.

$100/month + all the other fees works out to the same as your traditional PM.

Remember that 1 or 2% difference is a dollar or so a week.

 

Who else is there besides Different? I do recall there was another one but can't remember their name.

 

Looks like they're now offering a years worth of Landlord insurance for free... Do your due diligence...

https://different.com.au/landlord-insurance/