QLD Good property manager in Brisbane?

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by haisergeant, 19th Sep, 2018.

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  1. haisergeant

    haisergeant Member

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    Hi everyone,

    I am newcomer and want to be landlord too. I am looking for deals. After calculation I realize that working in Sydney and invest in Brisbane work out for me, positive gearing and more savings for new purchases.

    So my question is:
    Is there any good property management company in Brisbane? Also, is there any bad company so people can steer away?

    I think this is common for others too, working in Sydney and invest in Brisbane. So is there any challenge of this criteria?
    - Maintenance, fixing issues with property
    - Screen tenants
    - Showing property for potential tenants
    - Collecting rent and pay landlord on time

    I understand these are the responsibilities of property managers, but as a landlord, we should involve a little bit about these and make sure the system works properly. I understand my questions are too wide. So I keep it short: What is the challenging issue people have when investing remotely?

    Thanks
     
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  2. Pumpkin

    Pumpkin Well-Known Member

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    Congrats and welldone in your new investment!

    There are plenty of good PMs in Brisbane I am certain. It is good you are looking at getting involved in the process and not 100% relying on the PM. I'll leave it to other Investors to share their experience. But just like to caution you as to not to emphasize too much about the rates... Too many people are too focused on whether it's 8.8% or lower, and lose sight of other more important areas which cost them more later.

    All the best.:)
     
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  3. haisergeant

    haisergeant Member

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    hi Pumpkin,

    Thank you for your input and remind about the PM rates. I kept that in mind. To me I can stretch up to 9-10% as long as this is good PMs, and still positive gearing for me, too.

    I note down some points which I use to identify a good PM:
    - Has some good references from other landlords so I can check reviews.
    - Turn up on time when I need, reply email within few hours.
    - Inspect the condition of property every 3 months, take photos and send me photos.
    - Have relationships with contractors like plumbers, painters, fixers, how long the problem is fixed.
    - Turn over rate of tenants (some PM kick tenants to get one more week rental payment from new tenants)
    - ... (more points I will input in the future - if you have another experience, feel free to input here)

    Thanks
     
  4. SuzyG

    SuzyG Well-Known Member

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    Sounds like you have a good grasp of what you are looking for and need in a great property manager.

    I always ask their stats as I believe their quality will show in the statistics they achieve for their investors.
     
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  5. EllaIerino

    EllaIerino New Member

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    Hi!

    I am a local property manager in Brisbane and work for a small boutique family run agency.

    My biggest recommendation to you would be to stay clear of the big sales focused sales agencies. You may find you will receive a very low fee however I can tell you this from my own personal experience of working for these agencies and seeing first hand the lack of both care and customer service.
     
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  6. luckyone

    luckyone Well-Known Member

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    Based on my experience as a tenant, I'd say definitely avoid Clark Realty in Lutwyche. They were horrid to rent through!
     
  7. euro73

    euro73 Well-Known Member Business Member

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    These guys manage multiple properties for my clients and for me. Many dozens in fact. They have always been excellent. That doesn't mean they will be excellent for you... but as the owner of a very large property portfolio and the owner of a business that deals with hundreds of clients and hundreds of INV properties around the country - these guys are a stand out for consistently doing their job well. That's all I can tell you.

    Property Management Brisbane | Rent Star
     
  8. haisergeant

    haisergeant Member

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    Agree, big agencies they have many properties and many clients to look after. To me, just a small investor, who is the person they would least take care of. However, I think still have big agencies work effectively, if they set up their system properly.
     
  9. haisergeant

    haisergeant Member

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    Thanks euro73, I'll take a look on this company.
     
  10. Michael Mitchell

    Michael Mitchell Well-Known Member

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    Hi haisergeant, what area of Brisbane (north, south, east, west) or just asking in general?
     
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  11. haisergeant

    haisergeant Member

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    I think in General. Currently I am focus in the south east, Mount Gravatt, Mansfield, Holland Park,... since I found some properties work out for me. I also found some perfect properties in North side, but not yet focus on these areas yet. Do you have any recommendation on the area?
     
  12. Todd

    Todd Well-Known Member

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    I also use Rent Star and have been very happy with them
     
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  13. haisergeant

    haisergeant Member

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    Thanks, look like people recommend them :) will check them out.
     
  14. Michael Mitchell

    Michael Mitchell Well-Known Member

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    Northside is heavily a "buyers market" at the moment. Mass over supply has sent unit prices through the floor and there are some very well priced units to pickup, just be mindful of the Body Corporate Levies as they can quickly erode your profits, some schemes are better than others. In time the unit prices will go up in value, but nothing compared to the capital gains on house & land properties, especially the bigger blocks - 800m2 to 1/2 acre etc, but they of course cost considerably more so usually not entry level investors buying those sorts of properties.
     
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  15. Matthew D

    Matthew D Well-Known Member

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    I was going to start a thread on this topic but thought I would ask here since you brought it up.
    I'm curious to know. What are the thing/s a PM can do to make renting through them such a bad experience?

    I'm currently looking for a PM in north brissy
    Will give Rentstar a call judging by the positive feedback
     
  16. luckyone

    luckyone Well-Known Member

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    So many things!

    1. Anything that I reported was broken they claimed that I had damaged
    2. They approved for me to have a dog and a cat in the place, but didn't get it approved by the body corporate. So two days after I moved in, I met my next-door-neighbour just after returning from a walk with my dog. She promptly accused me of not having approval for my dog as the body corporate didn't allow pets. I had to put her in contact with the property manager to prove I had approval. I then had a horrible 6 week wait while body corporate determined whether or not I would be evicted.
    In the meantime, I spoke to the property management company about reimbursing my moving fees/connection fees if I was forced to move. They said the whole incident was my fault as I'm meant to get approval from the body corporate - not them! The RTA did not agree with them thankfully! I didn't get evicted, but the next-door-neighbour made my life hell the whole time I lived there
    3. The antenna point in the wall wasn't actually connected to anything, so I didn't have tv for a week. When I tried to get them to fix it they claimed I must have broken it during moving in. The wall point was intact, there was nothing connected behind it though - so unless I actually got into the wall I couldn't have possibly done that.
    4. The two telephone points didn't work in the unit. I had to wait two weeks for the owner to get around to coming an inspecting it and then claiming that I must have broken them!
    5. They reported after the first inspection that everything was fine. Then the week after the owner insisted of going through the unit. He claimed I broke a number of things and had to get them fixed immediately. I hadn't and they were all on the condition report - they still tried to get me to pay for them though!
    6. After moving out, they did a final inspection. Yet again they claimed I had broken/damaged numerous things which were all listed on the ingoing condition report. They denied it. I sent her an extensive email listing everything quoted in the condition report including page number and what part they were listed under. Had to say I'd happily take them to tribunal over it before she finally admitted she was looking at an old copy of the condition report.

    So basically they were the worst property managers I have ever encountered in my entire life!
     
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  17. Matthew D

    Matthew D Well-Known Member

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    wow thankfully you're out of there now
     
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  18. luckyone

    luckyone Well-Known Member

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    Yep, I am very relieved!
     
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  19. charlie01

    charlie01 Well-Known Member

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    Big sales focused sales agencies can have good PMs while small agencies can have dodgy PMs. I have experienced all. Anything can happen.
     
    Last edited: 2nd Nov, 2018
  20. charlie01

    charlie01 Well-Known Member

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    Hey, guys, I couldn't find the existing thread regarding Realty8 (upper Mt Gravatt). Has it been deleted?