Property Manager Vs DIY

Trying2SaveABuck on 07/05/2017 - 19:22
Last edited 07/05/2017 - 19:23

A whilst ago i posted this:

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/299327

Now time has gone by and im posing a new question what are the point of property managers and are they worth there fees?
I ended up keeping the useless property manager because the tenants and I came to an agreement and it made this lease agreement smooth for the next 12-months.

so now i am in this situation:

I now have 2 investment properties: 1 i self manage and 1 I have a property manager.

My property manager charges 1.5 weeks of rent for the new lease (complete waste of money) and 5.5% of the weekly rent including GST. - not the the cheapest but from the research i did pretty decent for the area.

Both properties are in areas where rental demand is Moderate-to-high (Melbourne west) and are renting out for 350 per week on a 12 month leases.

In all honesty the property manager has done f*** all i have organised with the tenants everything, i even asked the manager if they would ask the tenants if they wanted a longer then 12-month lease and i literally heard NOTHING from her.

My other property I manage myself and although finding tenants on gumtree did my head in with people calling me and msging me at all times of the day and night but I have no issues with the property and i actually find i have a better relationship with my tenants however (admittedly it might be hard to increase rent in the long term).

I understand GOOD property managers are hard to find but I personally am starting to feel that they are more have a harm then good if my tenants were late on there payments or decided to damage my house what benefit could a property manager do generally they dont care?

I dont want to sound bias against property managers and im sure lots do a good job, before i self managed this property i had a good manager who kept everything under wraps (but that person did leave)

SO im posing the question especially aimed at property investors who have has bad experience with tenants did the property manager help or hinder stemming the loses? or are they simply a waste of money?

Because in all honest 1-2 weeks of rent plus 4-8% of weekly commission is a fair amount of money to do f*** all.

comment below and let me know? because once this lease ends i am considering giving this manager the sack now that the tenants know me and realize im a pretty good landlord.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2017 - 20:51
    +1

    and it's tax deductible, so the figures are not as it seems, I think it's worth staying for the hassle if you get bad tenants but the week rent for the new contract always hurts.

    • Trying2SaveABuck on 07/05/2017 - 20:59

      I agree it is deductible tax so that does make it better but i just want to do if they actually help if you have bad tenants?? i mean certainly it adds an impersonal element to the property but in all honesty if that is all they can do from a legal stand point they are pretty useless.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2017 - 20:53
    +2

    and don't use their tradesmen to fix things, such a rip off better find ur own.

    • bargainbargain on 07/05/2017 - 21:28

      thats it mate.

      We had two instances recently where their tradesmen was 2x the price i could find by calling 5 tradesmen and spending 5mins.

      In the first instance the difference was material - market around 350 and they charged 720. So i made lot of noise. Was hoping 2nd time they will do a good job but nah !!!

      She was happy to issue work order to my trade find through cold calls !

  • Kommyht on 08/05/2017 - 08:01
    +1

    A good property manager comes into play when sht hits the fan and can negotiate a rental increase or defuse situations. Anyone can send and receive paperwork for lease renewals and call a tradie. The PMs I've done work with all manage around 200-300 properties - hoping most of them run smoothly to avoid spending time on them. If yours is doing a poor job, I'd look at changing to another agent or one who seems more competent.

    Sadly, the property management side of agencies tend to be understaffed, underpaid, high stress given their role in keeping the lights on. One manager with a modest 150 clients brings in roughly $1500/yr on each or a quarter million in fees alone.

    Edit: saw OP is in Melbourne. Recommending Syd agents would be irrelevant

  • MrHyde on 08/05/2017 - 08:33
    +1

    For me, property managers are worth it simply from a time perspective. I just don't have the time to go looking for tradies and organising them to fix things.

    I have had bad tenants and the property managers were there. I've had tenants not pay rent. The property managers were on top of things and issued VCAT proceedings after one week. They dealt with all the VCAT stuff as well as with my insurance and I was out of pocket not a single cent.

    I have had tenants who have just up and left. The property managers handled getting the place back in order and had new tenants in pronto.

    I have had cases where a tradie just did half the work and disappeared. Again the property manager handled the tenant and got in a replacement tradie to do the work properly.

    As you said, it all comes down to having a good property manager AND (this is where many investors drop the ball) a vigilant investor. Although I don't do the property managers work, I do chase them up regularly on what they doing. I will call them about inspections and will chase them about every single item raised in the inspection report. I will chase them near renewal time to increase the rent and get a new lease in place. I will also respond ASAP to any queries from the property manager if a tenant has submitted an issue.

  • xssive on 09/05/2017 - 22:12

    My advice, find a small boutique agency who want the management and if possible the property manager is the owner / part owner of the business.

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