Good management agent please for north parramatta?

I know there are agents that are good to deal with when selling, buying, or managing. I seem to have no luck with good management agent for my north parramatta property.

Initially it was with Ray White Parramatta - property manager don't really communicate with me, property inspections done by officers and then very little feedback. I offered to reduce rent to secure a tenant but they believe the rent is about right no need to reduce. Eventually it was empty for close to 4 months before I personally put a tenant in there myself.

The property was moved over to Laing & Simmons Parramatta 3 years ago (?). Initially it was great - manager kept me informed all the time. Then it was quite for a while - eventually found out old manager left, new manager came in and the communication just went down hill. Emails not returned, rude to valuers, couldn't provide me with inspection reports. Funny thing is they've got this business development manager who from her EDMs sounds like it's a good agency. Earlier this year I was trying to release some equity but bank couldn't get inspection access, eventually I had to refinance over to another bank (new bank willing to do desktop valuation, no access required).

Rent is lower than market rent, so few days ago I emailed the property manager asking her where she's at with the inspection report, and to increase rent. No reply at all so far.

Seriously considering taking it elsewhere.
I've read mixed reviews about R&W, but Starr Partners Parramatta sounds so I might give them a call.

Would anyone have ones they recommend? and ones to avoid?

 

We are at Norwest Lats - I like to think we are good. Parra is just up the road and we have properties as far as Blacktown.

Shoot me a note if you want to discuss.

 

Ausrealty Carlingford.

 

Thanks fols.
Just curious, how did you come to using them (search and interviewed? Or referral).
Just wondering how I could impove on finding better agents

 

Referral through a family member.

 

Depends how thorough you want to be. You can ask many questions about their selection, arrears, maintenance process etc. and they will give you the best answer they give everyone.

Referrals can be good, provided the person that is doing the referring has had experience with a variety of property managers to compare with. If people have no benchmark, then it's hard to determine what is good.

The leasing process is also important to consider because just 1 week of additional vacancy could be almost the same as half a years management fee, which is why you need to spend the time and find the one that can do the best job in that aspect as well.

Here are some non-conventional ways in which you can determine for yourself if they are a good property manager.

1. Send email enquiries for properties on the market in your target area. Check response time and whether they qualify you.
2. Look at each agency's listings to see whether they put effort in their advertising. Check photo and description quality. If you know what to look for, you can also see whether they go for the budget or upgraded advertising options.
3. Find out how many properties each property manager is handling. 150 should be the maximum but could be more depending on their management structure.

If you really want to test them, ask them what the agencies vacancy rate is and the average time on market. If they are tracking performance then you know you've found an expert.

Assuming they can provide vacancy rate, you can then use that figure plus the amount of properties each property manager has and verify that with the amount of properties on the market.
This shows if they are truthful and how they compare with the general vacancy rate for the area. They shouldn't have too many distant properties so the figure should be fairly accurate.

 

@LATS

I've the same issue 5 years ago with different agency. Moved to starr north parramatta, they help me recover, tenant hearing, rental increase..
So far so good

 

@Nick Valsamis
My worry exactly.
Coming from an HR background I've picked up some great interviewee skills myself at both sides of the table. I can honestly say I could top most job interviews with perfect answers knowing the exact things to say to get a tick (whether I can do the job is a different story after I get the job )

I'm worried agents great answers are merely that....

Thanks for your tips, they are great.

 

It's so hard because you get a good one and then they leave. PMs are often young and /or stressed and under-paid. I'm with LJ Hooker and they're not too bad. Had a few issues but always able to resolve them sometimes by going to boss. Communication is good.

 

I should say all depend on your luck.
Used someone recommended by a few people, found out just an OK manager but not as good as recommended before.
Considering they will not have only one customer, thus I think the service is OK.

 

I think communication is the key for me - I'm not as hands on as other investors, so the more proactively the agent with their comm the better for me.

 

I can accept average / standard service.... Service that exceeds expectation would be better, but we can only hope and maybe with a bit of luck like you say?

 

We would like to suggest Nick Valsamis from Vantedge.

If you are looking for a reliable, trust worthy, clear communicator, prompt follow up, seeking property owner’s best interest and first class service, I would truly recommend Nick.

He has not only provided great advice to help us get out of the nightmare dealing with Remax Minchinbury (Real Estate One), but also taken the burden out of our hands.

 

Afraid I have to retract this semi-recommendation. They've since put in a manger to manage the property managers - Tamsin. The kind of person who dodges phone calls, takes offense and offers irrelevant explanations when you ask why you haven't been paid for the last 6 weeks, instead of taking it to accounts as requested. I smell a rat.