April 7, 2022
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In a nutshell, property managers find great tenants for your house, enforce the tenancy contract, facilitate repairs, and help you maximise your rental income.
In return, property management companies charge a fee, usually between 7% and 12% of your rental income – with Harper Properties, it’s 8.5%.
We find that landlords who try to manage their properties themselves quickly realise it’s a huge job demanding a ton of experience. Novice approaches can quickly create tricky situations like late rent and disputes.
An experienced company will have robust processes that improve the experience for landlords and tenants, preventing issues from happening in the first place.
The best property managers take a “relationship-first” approach that protects you and your property while ensuring tenants get a fair, transparent experience.
What property managers do, in detail:
- Tenant Management
- Rent Collection and Financial Reporting
- Maintenance and Repairs
- Inspections
- Advertising to Potential Tenants
- Regulatory Compliance
- Dispute Resolution
- Need A Relationship-First Property Manager?
Tenant Management
Property managers get your property rented as quickly as possible. But this matchmaking takes great care, and what differentiates good from great property managers is a thorough tenant vetting process.
This should involve:
- Checking credit history, legal records, social media, and employment history
- Following up on an applicant’s references to gauge character and reliability
- Responding to prospective tenants’ queries quickly (and warmly!)
This is where robust software and a relationship-first approach make a big difference in helping you find great tenants for your property. Tenancy evaluation tools enable property managers to assess more applicants faster and with greater accuracy.
“From the very beginning, Ashleigh made our application process incredibly easy. Her professionalism and efficiency were evident throughout, and she truly went above and beyond to ensure we found a wonderful home. Ashleigh’s dedication and excellent communication made the entire process smooth and stress-free.” – Sulara Perera
Once your properties are rented, it’s the property manager’s job to be the key contact for tenants.
To do this well, property managers are experts at relationship-building, understand tenancy law inside and out, and can strike the perfect balance of making tenants feel cared for while protecting your investment.
Rent Collection and Financial Reporting
Property managers collect the rent, ensure it’s paid on time, and safeguard your money in an audited trust account.
While strong tenant vetting should prevent late payments from happening, an experienced property manager advocates for landlords by following a zero-tolerance policy to arrears.
An experienced property manager will know how to handle this quickly and fairly, escalating appropriately and enforcing the tenancy contract.
As a landlord, having a third-party advocate for you in these situations saves the headaches and potential pitfalls of communicating directly with the tenant.
Financial reporting is another crucial aspect of property management.
The best property managers are driven by your success and will use their experience, local knowledge, and access to rental market data to formulate proactive strategies to boost property value and increase rental income.
Wondering what your Auckland property could rent for? Get a free rental appraisal.
Rental Property Maintenance and Repairs
With regular, thorough inspections, a good property manager can spot minor damage or required repairs before they become major problems, avoiding any nasty surprises for landlords.
They’ll have a network of reliable tradespeople to contact when maintenance or repairs are required, and present you with cost-effective options so you can make an informed decision.
Of course, sometimes emergencies happen that require an immediate response – you don’t want your tenants to be left without power or an important appliance.
This is where a great property manager really shines:
“Harper Properties have responded on a number of occasions to one-off emergencies from the tenants and resolved issues like the leaking roof which caused a power short in the middle of the night and they have also facilitated several large projects like re-roofing the house.” – Craig Harper
At Harper Properties, we use advanced software to enable tenants to immediately report an issue for quick repair – check out our maintenance request chatbot.
Keep in mind that some Auckland property management companies charge extra maintenance fees – but Harper Properties doesn’t.
For major repairs and renovation work, the best property managers will present your options in the context of how a renovation can increase your property value.
We facilitated major upgrades for a client’s property in Manurewa to make it Healthy Homes compliant. We were able to relist it for +$150 more per week, adding considerable value for the homeowner and providing tenants with a warm, modern home they were happy to rent.
Inspections
Property managers will complete routine inspections every three months, and at the end of a tenancy to ensure your property is in immaculate condition between tenancies and meet insurance requirements.
Experienced property managers will have a trained eye, noticing little problems before they escalate into expensive repairs.
With larger portfolios, it can be difficult to track when inspections are happening, the results of inspections, and required repairs across different properties.
This is where property management software tools are a huge advantage:
For $45 per inspection, Harper Properties clients can access our in-depth inspection reports from each of their properties, including:
- Each property that’s being managed
- Overall condition assessment
- Photos with detailed comments on what repairs or improvements are needed
- Sign-off from tenants
Inspections can be stressful for tenants. Great property managers will use this as an important opportunity to nurture this relationship by providing plenty of notice, transparency, and flexibility around understandable scenarios requiring a rescheduled inspection.
Advertising to Potential Tenants
Advertising a rental property is a time-consuming process that requires accuracy, marketing knowledge, access to large tenant pools, and the ability to reply quickly to dozens of prospective tenants.
The way your properties are marketed play a huge role in attracting the right tenants. Having a local Auckland property manager is a real advantage, because they’ll have a sound awareness of what features and amenities to emphasise based on what the rental market is looking for.
A lot goes into the standard of Auckland rental properties that Harper Properties advertise on TradeMe, including:
- Home styling
- Photography and videography
- Accurate description of amenities, school zoning, chattels
- Providing up to date viewing availability and/or links to book viewings
- Fast, warm responses to prospective tenants
Some firms will charge for this, but others (like Harper Properties) will include property advertising within their service fees.
Regulatory Compliance
From the Residential Tenancies Act to the Healthy Homes Standards, rental property laws have evolved significantly over the last few years – and they’re far from straightforward.
Regulations that apply to some properties don’t apply to others, and it takes experience to know exactly what your home needs to be compliant and attractive to prospective tenants.
Having a property manager takes the pressure and complexity of compliance off your plate. Property managers will ensure your rental property ticks all the boxes, and give cost-effective advice on how to get it up to standard if something’s missing.
Good communication around regulations is essential for a good property manager. They should be able to explain this clearly and concisely, providing details on how much getting compliant might cost, and how it will affect your rental investment goals.
Dispute Resolution
The unfortunate reality is that, sometimes, tenant disputes are avoidable.
Miscommunications can quickly escalate into a nightmare for landlords and tenants – we strongly recommend that you don’t attempt conflict resolution without expert guidance from a property manager.
An experienced property manager will have been through this process many times before, and been successful. With effective conflict resolution and mediation skills, their first priority will be to resolve issues with tenants as quickly and take a solutions-first approach that satisfies both parties.
However, if it comes to that, a property manager will be prepared with the documentation and approach to support your case at the Tenancy Tribunal.
Need A Relationship-First Property Manager?
Landlords (and tenants) love Harper Properties for our competitive rates, no hidden fees, and genuine care for tenants, landlords, and properties.
Our local, “relationship-first” approach to managing property will save you the headaches and help you to reach your investment goals – whether that’s building your real estate portfolio or simply turning a property into a passive income.
Request a free rental appraisal, send us an email auckland@harperproperties.co.nz, or call us at 09 361 2810.