what are a things good propmanager shoulddo? apartments are empty still weeks later.

what are a some things good property manager should do?

a relative has apartments untenanted still weeks later in a good area. I dont know what this property manager is doing or should be doing. or how to measure what they do as apposed to what others would do . When relatives would themselves advertise and rent out the flats they would be tenanted fast. They would not be still empty weeks later like they are now.

How can i compare wht different property mangers would do for repairs, keeping the place clean, renting out the apartments.

apparently the pm said to give her 6 months.what does that mean. why isnt it clean how why arent flats rented now. 6 months for what?

the money is in sales not in managing so many dont bother unless you know specifically what to ask them for.

i fear they are just going to talk this aging relative into selling which is not for their own good. None of this makes sense to me. what should a good pm be doing.

 

6 months is bs. Maybe try using an agent who puts in more effort in securing a tenant, especially if your relatives can diy it and lock in tenants within weeks.

Some things agents need to do:
-Make sure the advertised rent is realistic for the area and competitive against similiar listings.

-Agent should be holding Saturday inspections or ideally, private inspections on appointment. Easier to do if the agent is within driving distance and the place is vacant.

-Ad should be up on REA and Domain as well as the agents website.

-Debrief your relatives after each open house on how it went and who is interested.

Ive had properties stay vacant for 2-3 months and its a pretty frustrating experience. Sometimes it's unavoidable despite the agents best efforts but the agent first need to demonstrate that they've exhausted their repertoire.

Gonna disgree with your comment that theres no money in managing. PMs ive used usually juggle 150-200 properties and at NSW fees of 4-7%, thats a sizeable $150k or more of income a year to keep the office lights on and admin staff paid minimally.

 

With the very few details provided I will just say the rent is to high as people are seeing better value elsewhere.

I am assuming they have it advertised on major websites re.com and domain and are doing inspections either open and/or private (if booked).

Other things that can improve your appeal besides dropping rent is having better marketing (maybe professional photos - this is the first way most people will see the unit and will make a decision to inspect or not from the photos).

Or it could be to do improvements like paint, new carpets or update kitchen/bathroom.

If everything else is 100% then there is no demand (e.g mining town mine has closed down) and as such the rent is still high because there is no demand but to much supply.

Of course the PM might not be doing anything but that would be extremely rare as the PM doesn't get paid until they find a tenant and rent is being paid. If there was a tenant then maybe the PM is doing nothing as they will still get paid.

 

The opening question is quite open-ended so I’ll try to segment the answers and keep them short(ish).

(Marketing)

There would want to be some pretty severe prevailing market conditions to justify a property remaining vacant for any more than a month at the absolute most. After two weeks, the enquiry tends to drop off dramatically. After another two weeks the marketing is dead in the water. I can’t fathom a situation where six months of vacancy should be acceptable.

What area are the apartments located, and how many are there?

A skilled Property Manager should identify an issue with the market positioning (e.g. too expensive, market has dropped). They move quickly to provide the property owner with evidence and a detailed explanation, which results in a change (e.g. rent reduction).

The basics should also be in place- premium online advertising across a number of platforms, professional photography, signboards, responsive to enquiry, multiple weekly (and weekend) viewings, etc.

That all being said- There's a chance the PM is marketing effectively and the advice relates to a dramatic change in market conditions. If this is the case, it appears that they're just failing to communicate effectively with the Landlord about why.

(Repairs)

Setting expectations with owners is critical. Some owners are happy for the PM to go ahead with small repairs without approval, others want to know about every cent. I like to work with my clients, so in 99% of cases I chat to them first.
The same goes with quotes. A good PM will hold a staff of trusted trades and have the knowledge to challenge trades who are over-priced, poor quality or missing the scope of works. I regularly clarify work that I find suspicious and pass the information straight to my owners before they even have the chance to ask.
Also important are their processes for dealing with maintenance of varying priorities (e.g. old fence or a burst water main?). Trades, tenants and owners REGULARLY forget to get back to us or follow through- and it’s our job to keep the train on the rails till completion.

(Ongoing Condition)

At the start of tenancy, a detailed Entry Condition Report is written with hundreds of photos. Many PM’s do a terrible job of this and it is the most critical document! Upon exit, the condition is compared to this document and it is the only thing that can prove damage, poor cleaning, missing items, etc.!

Routine Inspections are generally done four times a year. Every PM seems to have a different standard of “clean”, but we all agree on what damage is. Many seem to forget that we have no right to advise the tenants how to live unless their lack of cleanliness or tidiness is contributing to excessive wear and tear or damage to the property. PM’s should advise you of the condition at inspections, and if there is an issue, explain the plan moving forwards. A great tenant might have accidentally put a hole in the wall and explain they have a repair organised, so I’d monitor that without breaching them. A problematic tenant might have driven through a fence and failed to advise us or plan a repair- in which case they’d most likely need to be issued with a formal breach.

 

This I find quite disturbing. What type of PM would ask for this? Hope they explained it at the start. I couldn't help it but wonder whether this is one of those freebies, wherby Sales Agent did the sale and offer free rental.... Do you know why your relative pick them? What state it's in, and is it a new property, good area ...?
Since this is an apartment, I can't stress enough to consider the Onsite Manager. They bought the Management Right and it is in their best interest to look after you.

 

Dear Justine77,
what is the current vacancy factor for the area?
What is the competition?
Why is your relatives property somewhere that a prospective tenant would want to rent?
(what is the point of difference? )
Does it meet the needs of the demographic in the area?
This information will tell you how to deal with vacancies!
I hope this helps

 

i'm trying to work out the picture myself
yes must be overpriced for comparative apartments
better apartments available for close to that price

they need fixing repairing improving
they have been rented as furnished but that might be worse as the furniture are quite bad. maybe backpackers would take them and maybe thats why shes had some rowdy tenants but been happy for anyone paying rent or mostly paying rent as one didnt pay always and that was good enough for her

they need repairs. paint, maybe carpet,

unsure how to make grout in bathroom clean whether mould cleaners or if theres another way

the toilet is even broken with chunks taken out of the bowl. ther eare some doors with holes

its a good area, small 2 bedroom,

one hasnt been cleaned yet.

she hasnt managed them well, upkeep .
clean paint carpet repairs, need to be done asap. who qand when these will be done i just dont know.t hey are in a top location. they should be rented easily .

I think relatives used to advertise on gumtree and get alot of backpackers which sometimes were ok and sometimes were drunk and rowdy.

 

With the information we have, it sounds like the next steps should follow;
1. Change Property Manager.
2. Repair and freshen up.
3. Re-position rent expectations to market.
4. Find great new tenants!

 

thanks yes
If i was the owner or manager i wou ld have had them cleaned repaired painted immediately not sitting untouched with no rent coming in still days or weeks later. they are not prioritising cleaning repairing renting these they are leaving them unrented even in the begining when they ahve just been hired when you think they would want to prove themselves

maybe they should have been hired on a trial basis for first weeks to prove themselves with these vacant flats and then we will see if we will continue witht hem.

thanks you.

 

Our last vacancy was 18 months ago. 5 weeks with minimal inspections, no applications and a PM that didn't seem interested in doing much about it. They didn't organise the minor improvements that were needed or bother with decent photos that they'd initially suggested.

We implemented Tom's first suggestion (change property manager). The rest fell into place over the subsequent 10 days.

 

So the flats are dirty, need repairs (one even has a broken toilet bowl), and full of furniture in bad condition. The mystery of why the flats have not been rented out is solved. Who on earth would rent a flat like that if there are others to choose from?
How much are your relatives prepared to spend on the flats to get them into a rentable condition?

 

^^^ Tis the root problem me think... One needs to spend small money before big money comes in ...

 

LMAO... How on earth could anyone be wondering why its not rented yet.......

 

A good PM is "lazy"

Lazy in the sense that their goal is to secure a good tenant that gives you (the property owner) and them (the pm) little to no hassle - on time rent, turnover once every 2-3 years, etc.

On the other side you can have a PM that is "hard working" because they do a subpar job to begin with and spend the rest of their time chasing their tails.

A good PM will also be prepared to you your place needs work and what you have to do. Some people view this as the PM wants their job done for them, but it's not. It's an education piece. If you fix your place up, it will attract better tenants (and lower turnover and less complaints come with this).

It's easy to stick any tenant in, a PM job is to filter out the rubbish now so you don't have to deal with it later.

For my first property, the PM I chose was crap, but who was I to know? 3 weeks had passed, and still no tenant. I put the pressure on and told them I was going elsewhere if they didn't sort it out. Bam! Got a tenant straight away.... not the worse tenant (in comparison to some of the stories I have heard here), but definitely ranks as one of the worse tenants I've had.

 

i see my relative was still chasing people to clean, repair and show people the flat. the pm did not do any of this. Is that normal?

 

Hi Justine

I've posted my answer in the other thread you started today on this same topic.

 

I would have expected the PM to organise repairs and cleaning if asked and if given a budget, but we don't know the whole story. Maybe the PM's estimate of the cost was not acceptable? Maybe the landlord expected the PM to pay for the work and deduct if from future rental payments? This has been going on for a long time now, so something doesn't add up. Justine, have you talked to the PM or are you just relaying what your relatives have told you?

 

Oh dear...