PM recommendations Marsden

Looking for recommendations for a property manager in Marsden, QLD. The one we currently have is nothing short of disappointing. Constantly following up on unanswered emails and phonecalls for maintenance/outstanding bills. The final straw was when maintenance I requested in November last year has still not been looked at, and I have emailed and called 3 times over the last week and a half with no emails back and reception saying they would get her to phone back though this still has not happened. Completely fed up!

 

Can understand why you're fed up, that's status quo among most PMs. Glorified receptionists most are - good at taking phone calls but nothing actually happens after that.

You need to get one that has an accountability guarantee

 

Who is the PM...?

 

I have one in Marsden, and its managed by RedRocket Reality. I would have given them a 10/10 if you had asked me this question 12 months ago. But now with their chief PM moving on to another competitor 2 months back, I would give RedRocket a 7/10

 

I use Brigette from youraddress - she is out that way in Browns Plains. Has looked after several of mine, no complaints.

 

Also, make sure the person you talk to will also be your point of contact and the person that looks after your property. These days I make sure that there is a mutual understanding that I only have to deal with one person.

With the previous agency I used, my initial conversations with the senior property manager sounded very promising and she great - easy to get a hold of, very responsive etc. The moment the lease was signed, my file got handed to a younger inexperienced property manager and it was downhill from there. Every time we had an issue come up such as repairs or tenants in arrears I'd be on the phone with a new pm to only find out the previous pm has left. Wasn't able to get a hold of the senior pm anymore after initial dealings.

 

Absolutely. It's an issue many investors (including myself!) have experienced. If the agency isn't willing or doesn't offer the chance to speak to the person who will actually be managing your property I would be asking why. They should also have a single point of contact policy for the same reason. Obviously there are times where it's not practically but generally speaking, it's very frustrating having to deal with different departments once your property is under management!

 

Also make sure the PM knows the area and the likely demographics and their needs. While others may argue against this, I go for someone who's agency is in the area - they are on the local streets each day.

Also ask how long they have been in the game, their processes, their experience in your area and how many active listings they have in your area. While these might be 101's, some have been caught out around very basic stuff.

 

I generally argue against this because in my experience, local agents i.e. those in close proximity, simply do not equate to a better service level. PM is not about property - it's about customer service and managing the relationship between the tenant and the landlord. I have had PMs who have been a 5 min drive away provide an absolutely terrible service and PMs a 25 min drive away provide an excellent one. There are little to no tasks that require a PM to be onsite within minutes and this is also often used as the argument for onsite managers. Advocating for a local PM also assumes that the only task associated with PM is the letting process. Being on the streets each day doesn't improve service levels on a tenanted property.

"Knowing the market" really relates to letting and re-letting, not the ongoing and day to day functions of management which are generally not related to proximity. There are functions that require access, but having someone 5 min away vs. 25 min away does not affect this on the part of the landlord or tenant. Sure, it's further for the PM but that's an inefficiency that the business must accept.

I also questions most PMs "local" knowledge of the market in an investment sense, in the same way I question someone when they say they want to invest in a given area because they "know the market". Knowing the locals shops, parks and transportation routes are pretty standard and any agent should know this. It's also the "investment knowledge" that plenty of Mum and Dad investors use when they say they "know the market"...how many people on here agree with investing using that? Does your local agent know the median rent, vacancy rate and trend and other key statistics? Do they provide them to you in a comparative market analysis every let or re-let? Most just send a "we feel you should do x, y or z with the rent because we feel the market is doing x, y or z" and provide no corresponding evidence to support their claim. Property management is a very important and serious function of the investment equation and the data used for letting and re-letting should be taken no more lightly than that used for the purchase in the first place. There is no place for guesswork and local agents, whilst possibly doing this, are no better placed to provide a full and complete market analysis than an agent who is a little further away. In my opinion, it's a smoke and mirrors marketing pitch that local agents love to use.

At the end of the day, communication, service and accountability (all the staples of customer service) are what you require in a PM along with an investment approach to what is possibly the biggest investment of someone's life. For me, the distance that one has to drive to service my property really matters little when it comes to how well they perform as a property manager and that is from plenty of experience. Whilst there must be some level of proximity for practicality purposes, it's not generally a metric by which I would judge an excellent PM or agency.

 

Great points MyProperty Pro

Do ensure that the person who is liaising with you on PC is the person who is also managing your property for you and the file is not handed to another inexperienced PM. Many of the agencies on this forum are doing amazing work - the PMs on this forum continue to be your one access point and visit your property to know what is going on - if your property is co-managed with another PM ethical agencies use very experienced PMs ...I have heard some unfortunately stories that to manage the low profit margins some PMs are totally overloaded with files (which is why we cap our files at 70 per PM now) with some having to pay for their own petrol and stationary leading to a high staff turnover (information shared with us from PMs seeking employment with our agency and citing why they have left). Find out how the HR side is being managed as if there is poor HR practices you can be assured there is high PM staff turnover and the predictable PM revolving door ensues,

 

I am bumping this up as unfortunately the company we chose after this original post has not delivered what they promised. Especially good communication.
If anyone has any recommendations from experience that would be great.

 

im on the fence about proximity,

the chances of an agent being more knowledgeable about an area they are in rather than further away are higher just based on common sense

sure an agent might just rented an office further away due to costs or other reasons, but based on statistical probability, id say the closer the better

also, would not a tenant feel better or have more faith or a better impression in an agent where they go and collect keys and drop off forms to be closer rather than further

what about maintannce, the agency tradies would more likely be closer and familiar with the area they are looking after than further away, once again just based on statisical probability

 

Take recommendations from business members with a grain of salt as SOME MEMBERS sometimes recommend to improve/maintain their business relationships. This is just like any other market place, good and bad service providers on here.

Also, some people recommend with genuine good intentions, however their circumstances may be different to yours. e.g. some people don't want too much communication, to them a good pm is one who gets the jobs done without hassling the landlord. To others that may seem like a bad pm.

There's a thread on here posted by @Anthony Brew with a detailed list of questions to ask before hiring a pm.

 

Thanks for the advice. We have a great PM for our investment in Sydney though it's a different story for Marsden. We are still waiting for quotes for works from December. Simply not good enough. Sick of chasing them to be honest.

 

Exactly. I've had one business member know I was unhappy with another who they never worked with before, yet recommend that person on here obviously to try and get reciprocal referral, to the detriment of anyone who reads that recommendation and actually put weight on the comment. Do your own due diligence before hiring anyone, here or elsewhere. If you don't know how to do due diligence, ask ask ask. Message people on here who have had an experience as a customer with the type of service you are looking to engage and ask them what are the things you should be asking and looking out for.

 

Who did you go with last year? Just so PCers are wary.

 

They are a member on here therefore I prefer not to say openly on this forum.

 

I'd score RR 0/10...! They 'lost' my entry condition report, didn't complete a proper exit condition report or inspect the property properly when the tenant vacated. The property was dirty and damaged, but with no entry or exit condition report RR claimed they could not help me any further! The current BDM just avoided any questions, ignored emails and didn't return phone calls, and if you give notice to terminate they will wipe their hands of any further management or issues you are having. I found total disregard to normal property management procedures with RR in December 2017. Sorry to say if you are with them I'd be moving asap.

 

unfortunately it is difficult to find a good PM in Brisbane. had used 2 PMs from PC, nightmare experience with them. it makes it even more difficult when the owner is interstate.

sorry to the OP, not being helpful here.

 

Well, my advice would be to spend some time shopping around agents, but make sure you end up going for the young guy running the small PM-only business with a cheesy smile

*cough*