Do you self manage your IP?

I co-manage two IPs with my investment partner. One thing we got caught out with in the past was a good tenant where we just did informal inspections but things went bad at the end of the tenancy. We wound up in the tribunal fighting over the bond and the tribunal asked to see inspection reports and breach notices. We didn't have either because we got on fairly well with the tenant and she had been keeping the property neat and tidy. My tip is to schedule regular inspections and to prepare written inspection reports. If you do notice any breaches of the tenancy agreement, it is best to put these in writing. Just explain to the tenant that it's not personal.

 

We self-manage two RIPs and have another two with agents.

For the ones we have with agents, one is a holiday rental with onsite management, and the other is with a regular PM.

For the ones we self-manage, when it comes to tenant changeover we've often put it with an agent we know just for advertising, fielding calls & tenant selection / vetting (although we have final say on who is chosen).

I know not many agents will do this so I'm glad we know one who will. It works well for us as it saves us paying management fees for something that we're very comfortable doing ourselves, and yet still gives us access to the TICA etc databases.

So, once the lease is signed, bond received and first cpl weeks rent is paid to the agent, the week-to-week management is handed back to us. The agent takes their "finder's fees" out of that first rent payment and then deposits the remainder to my account, and the tenant is given (written on the lease) my account details for all future rent payments. When the tenant is due to leave, I send them back to the agent to do the bond handover (unless bond has been transferred across to us, which we've done once), and we do the exit condition check, etc.

I second @Perthguy's comment above about making sure you do things properly. I know I am not perfect with inspections but am still better than agents we've used in the past! And we are quite handy so a quick trip out to replace a washer or something is no big deal to us.

 

I do this as well. It has worked out for us so far.

I also do a lot of maintenance. A good example is a tenant called at 9pm on a Friday night that the HWS wasn't working. The house is nearby and I had it working within 20 mins. I like things to be working and if not, for them to be fixed asap.

 

Yep, exactly. Plumbing is a big one - not that difficult at all to do the stuff that usually goes wrong, ie washers, leaky/running toilets, hot water systems etc. Obviously there are some things we can't do ourselves (electrical stuff for eg) but there's not much that we can't work out what's wrong fairly quickly, even if we then occasionally have to call in someone else to fix it.

 

No.

I'm investing to create passive income.

Minuscule tax deductible management fees are a small price to pay to leverage other people's time and avoid any disasters by failing to comply with legal obligations.

 

That's the main point. For what could be as little as $25/wk, with the amount of work they do at times, it's chump change to free up some of your time.

 

Unless it is the PM you are paying that creates the disaster by failing to comply with legal obligations.

(I have seen it done)

 

Good on you.
Do you do it as you 2nd full-time job? If you got another full-time job, how to balance it?

 

By the way, in your opinion, how is the rental market from Osborne Park, Glendalough or Balcatta? Easy to locate a tenant?

 

Heh. So are we. Which is why we aren't going down the path of holding mega-double digits' of RIPs (unless we develop and hold, of course. ).

And I might say : Little bits do add up, and our time involved in managing our RIPs has so far been LESS than it previously took to rectify a PM's mistakes / incompetence.

Of course, all of our current IPs are local, so that does make it easier. I think I would definitely use an PM for a non-local IP.

 

Ugh, you just gave me a flashback. That is an awful feeling, thanks
Note: not all PM's are good. Don't be scared to change agencies.

 

Oh sorry! I haven't personally had a PM, so I haven't had a bad one. My parents had a shocker in Melbourne, but fortunately onto a really great one now.

So I guess the tip for anyone going down the professional PM path - if your PM isn't doing a great job, get a new PM.

 

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere...but oouch!!


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-...ned-drug-house-prompts-police-warning/6690518

 

I self manage but I'll probably use a property manager in the future once I have a larger portfolio or if I was forced to due to location (interstate etc.). Touch wood I've never had any problems with late payments or property damage etc.

 

Unfortunate. Fake ID/background checks and all.