EPM: Best Practice & Legislation
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Spring open that little black book of tradies: Sharon Fox-Slater
As the weather heats up, a little seasonal TLC at investment properties may be on the cards. Sharon Fox-Slater says now is a great time to get out your little black book of tradies and arrange some springtime maintenance. Spring is traditionally when property owners give their homes a good clean and refresh. The arrival of warmer weather also heralds…
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Don’t blame the messenger: Michelle Williams
Unfortunately, this kind of reactive management is no longer acceptable to the savvy investor. They expect you to represent them and lead their decisions based on knowledge and expertise. They don’t want you to simply be the go-between. When you think about it, why would they pay for that service when they could cut out the middleman? When I see…
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Preparing for bushfire season: Sharon Fox-Slater
Bushfire season has just begun, but already there have been devastating fires across New South Wales, in Queensland’s Far North, near Darwin and in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. And as spring moves into summer, many other parts of the country will also brace for fires. For agents managing rentals in bushfire-prone areas, it is time to make sure your landlord…
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Going to the dogs: Sharon Fox-Slater
As new legislation in Victoria is set to see pets in rentals become the norm instead of the exception, Sharon Fox-Slater says the fear of damage might not be justified. With the Victorian Government tabling its ‘Fair Rent’ Bill in Parliament, the issue of pets in rentals is in the spotlight again. Amongst the 130 reforms, the proposed new legislation…
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Are your listings at threat from meth contamination?
“Meth House of Horror!”, “Ice Epidemic!”, “Rental Properties Test Positive for Meth/ice”. The headlines are alarming and fuel widespread fears about meth contamination. Concerns are particularly prevalent in the rental industry, with stories about investment properties being used as clandestine laboratories or smoking dens, and subsequent tenants suffering ill-effects from exposure to the toxic residue. With alarm bells ringing, agents…
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Fiddling on the roof: Sharon Fox-Slater
We are mid-way through winter and many parts of the country are getting windy and wet (although unfortunately not the right places right now!) When wild weather descends, roofs take a battering – and many come off second best. At RentCover around 55 per cent of all storm damage claims we receive relate to roofs. Last winter alone approximately $1.5…
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Vacation rentals & insurance: Sharon Fox-Slater
For many landlords with property in cities and prime holiday locations, the lure of the short-stay accommodation market is strong. Some choose to rent their property to holidaymakers, others may look for a corporate lease. Some have their property available to rent all the time, and some switch, looking to cash in during peak season. Although the financial rewards can…
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(Rental) House Rules: Sharon Fox-Slater
When it comes to Rental House Rules, rule number one is don’t DIY, cautions Sharon Fox-Slater. Seduced by the plummy tones of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (aka LLB) or the ocker Scottie Cam, the return of home renovation shows like House Rules and The Block is often a siren call to would-be DIYers. And while picking up the power tools at their…
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How to Grow From Reviews to Referrals: Kasey McDonald
Nothing will destroy a rent roll quicker than a slew of bad referrals and an army of online haters. In the face of such a demanding job as property management, how exactly do you safeguard your department from bad reviews and create a healthy tribe of promoters to grow your business through referrals? It’s a question I often get asked by perplexed principals and property managers who…
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A secure rental can mean a secure tenant: Sharon Fox-Slater
One in 40 Australian homes are burgled each year, sending a clear message to landlords and agents about the importance of security at rentals, says Sharon Fox-Slater. Home burglary is one of the most widespread crimes in Australia with more than 300,000 break-ins recorded each year, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology. This sobering statistic coincides with a number…
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Kasey McDonald: How Many Properties Can A Property Manager Manage?
It is a question I get asked all the time, and not just by property managers either. In fact, if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this million-dollar question, I’d no doubt be sipping mojitos on a tropical island in early retirement! I even found myself discussing this topic on stage last month when I presented…
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Sharon Fox-Slater: When weather goes bad
Seven cyclones – Hilda, Irma, Joyce, Kelvin, Linda, Marcus and Nora – have battered communities across northern Australia in the last four months. Add in storms and flooding in Northern Queensland and numerous bushfires devastating properties in southern Australia, including parts of the NSW Far South Coast and south-western Victoria in the last couple of weeks alone. It’s been an…
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Kylie Maxwell: The Wisdom of Hindsight
For many, starting a career in property management can be a steep learning curve, with poor training and lack of experience making for a difficult introduction to the industry. Transform Masters 2017 Champion Kylie Maxwell looks back over her 25 years and tells us what she wishes she knew when she first started out in property management. Some 25 years…
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The Executive Property Manager: Sarah Bell
IN THE SALES ARENA, we have seen the emergence of Agent 2.0 and 3.0 (are we up to 4.0?) as the value of a sales agent has changed with technology and evolving customer expectations. The new breed of agents are true professionals, unrecognisable from the stereotypes which placed real estate among the least trusted of all professions. So where does…
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Disaster season and landlord insurance: Sharon Fox-Slater
Beaches, barbies, budgie-smugglers…and bushfires. The image of summertime in Australia may be one of sun-drenched beaches and swimming in warm water, carefree holidays and lazy days that culminate in spectacular sunsets, but sadly the reality does not always live up to that postcard image. The summer months are when our nation often bears the brunt of Mother Nature’s wrath. The…
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The Proof Is In the Pudding: Michelle Williams
Do you ever consider that, in the eyes of our potential clients, we all look the same? From the consumer’s lens, they can’t see any difference between us until we can prove them wrong. If you haven’t already noticed, our new potential clients start with social proof. They no longer do the ring-around and attend back to back meetings to…
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Safety Tips for Property Managers with Fiona Blayney: Part 3
TRANSCRIPT Welcome back to Episode 3 of our safety and risk management in the workplace. Today we’re going to speak about technology and the importance of having, at a base minimum, one tracking system to ensure that we physically know where you are at any one time in the office. Now I know it can feel all Big Brother-ish, and…
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Safety Tips for Property Managers with Fiona Blayney: Part 2
TRANSCRIPT Welcome back to our second episode around safety in the workplace. I’m going to speak with you about what to do when you’re actually on site and that gut instinct, that fight or flight mode really kicks in. At the risk of creating havoc in your office with Fiona Blayney telling the world that if you don’t feel safe,…
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Safety Tips for Property Managers with Fiona Blayney: Part 1
TRANSCRIPT Hi. I’m Fiona Blayney, the CEO and Founder of Real+. Today, I’m here to talk with you over the next three sessions about that all important yet sometimes avoided topic of safety. There’s been heightened awareness around safety in the workplace by some very unfortunate circumstances of our colleagues in New Zealand in recent weeks. It’s important not to…
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Grace under Pressure: How You Can Keep Cool
There is a long-standing joke that property managers never take a lunch break. Each morning they hit their desk running and in a blink of an eye it’s 5.30pm. Here are my top five tips for property managers who are faced with common pressures of the job. PRESSURE 1: MINIMAL SUPPORT AND MENTORING: Property managers can feel isolated when the…
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What It Takes To Be an Administration Superstar
WHEN IT COMES TO the engine room of a real estate business, the importance of the administrator in keeping the business running well can often be overlooked. Heidi Walkinshaw from Real+ explains the skills a good administrator needs to have across both sales and property management. WHILE THERE are many functions that with technology can now become automated, a personality…
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One Small Dog
DON’T LET ALL THAT TAIL wagging and cute fluffiness fool you! ‘One small dog’ is sometimes all it takes to strike fear into the hearts and minds of landlords and property owners everywhere. WHAT ON earth do you think that one small dog is going to do – trash the house?” That was the response I gave my husband when…
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War! What Is It Good For?
THE ISSUES IN A PROPERTY management conflict are rarely overly difficult, but the people experiencing those issues certainly can be. EPM Editor Sarah Bell has some advice for understanding and managing conflict between all parties: tenants, landlords and you. WITH ALL THE contextual and cultural baggage that people bring with them, it really is no wonder that property managers face…
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Locking In Efficiency: Brad Larsen
LOCKBOXES – does your office use them? While more popular in the USA than here in Australia, LPMA 2017 speaker and successful property management business owner Brad Larsen believes they can add to your existing key management systems by improving efficiency and reducing incoming office traffic. If you’ve never used a lockbox, simply put they are a small, padlock-shaped box that…
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It’s Not What You Say; it’s How You Say It: Heidi Walkinshaw
How many people do you talk to in the course of a day? In real estate the people we meet are from all walks of life, meaning we have to manage a range of personalities and expectations, and all with differing styles of communication. Heidi Walkinshaw outlines a few points to bear in mind when it comes to getting the…
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Houston, We Have A [Drug] Problem
Unfortunately, meth usage is a growing problem in Australia, more widespread than most people realise. Bryan Goodall from Octief explains why we all need to be proactive about the growing problem of meth users in Australia, especially when it comes to property management. According to ABC News1, the number of Australians using the illegal drug methamphetamine – including crystal methamphetamine,…
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Closing The Airbnb Loophole
LISA JEMMESON EXPLAINS THE DETAILS behind the recent Victorian Supreme Court decision in Swan v Uecker, often referred to as the ‘Airbnb case’, where it was found the tenant could not sublet their residential property on short-termstay websites. BACKGROUND The landlord rented her two-bedroom St Kilda apartment in August 2015. The parties entered into a standard form Residential Tenancy Agreement…
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Landlords: They May Not Be Who You Think They Are
Owners. Investors. Landlords. If you’re a property manager or a sales agent, you probably think you’ve got their behaviours, motivations, likes and dislikes pinned down and that there are no more surprises to be had. And while stereotypes of owners can sometimes ring true, their characteristics change just as surely as our economy shifts. Blowing our minds – and preconceptions…
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Baking Bad: Hidden Dangers for Property Managers
Methamphetamine, also known as ice, ‘P’, or crystal meth, has become a major issue for the housing industry in New Zealand and many states of the USA. It’s growing in use throughout Australia due to the ease with which it can be manufactured and the profits to be made from its sale. Martin La Touche of Narcotect describes how the increasing use…
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Selecting The Right Tenant
How do you match the right tenant with the right home or landlord – is it a science, or part intuition? How do you attract the best tenants and what is the right process for selection? Elite Property Manager and Console invited four leading professionals to comment on the challenges they face, what works for their businesses and how they…
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The Art of Personal Communication
Although the list of available technology continually grows in property management as we automate to get more productive, it should not replace human communication. Here are some tips on what you should say and when you should say it from Amy Sanderson. Two-dimensional communications, such as text and email, are especially open to misunderstanding as they are essentially impersonal. Where…
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How consistent communication can keep you out of tribunal
Lately we’ve seen a growing number of cases heard in the Queensland Civil Administration Tribunal (QCAT) ruled in favour of tenants, with little to no consistency toward rulings for similar cases. Additionally, turnaround times for applications to court hearing have been delayed as a result of changes to postal allowance times, and secondly, the process of applying, lodging and representing…
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Milly Finds a New Home
PROPERTY MANAGERS HAVE been known to walk into some terrible situations in the line of duty. In November 2015 Melanie Pirotta, a property manager from PRD Nationwide Melton in Victoria walked into a property for a routine inspection to find an abused dog that had been abandoned by the tenant. Milly now has a happy home with the Pirotta family,…
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How the APRA Changes May Be Affecting Your Landlords
THE RECENT APRA CHANGES to LVR (Loan-to-valuation) ratios and subsequent raising of interest rates may have already impacted your investors. We sat down with experienced property management business owner and now mortgage broker Kirsty Dunphey of Up Loans to talk about life after property management and what you can do to help your owners through these changing times. FROM PROPERTY…
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Overcoming Owner Objections
AS A PROPERTY MANAGER, you’re almost always likely to face questions or objections from the owner of the property. Whether it’s for routine maintenance, emergency repairs, lease renewals or property vacancies, you need to know what you’re talking about so you can be sure you’re giving the property’s owner the right advice. Story by Lauren Kropp. OVER THE LAST decade…
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