Landlords

• Selecting a property management professional
• When marketing your property the management professional will
• When renting your property
• Rent Collection
• Property Maintenance
• Tenancy Renewals
• Property Inspections
• Tenants vacating your property
• Tenant has departed

Selecting a property management professional

One of the main advantages of selecting a professional to manage your investment property is peace of mind. Qualified property managers know the marketplace, ensuring you receive maximum returns on your investment. They also have an understanding of relevant legislation and paperwork that is required under the Residential Tenancies Act. The intricate detail of property management can be complex with legislation affecting the everyday workings of a tenancy and lessor relationship.

Using a professional agency / manager to manage your property alleviates you from the pressure of having to deal with tenancy issues. Property managers negotiate rents and leases on your behalf, sign and complete all documentation required by legislation, attend to maintenance issues, organise quotes, complete routine inspections (with your consent), attend to the payment of maintenance accounts, disburse funds to you monthly or twice monthly, provide you with a written financial statement of your rental funds, complete final inspections when your tenants vacate, plus a range of other services.

There are many functions of property management that are required to be done that a private lessor may not be aware of. The skill and expertise of an agent will reduce the risk of non-compliance with the Residential Tenancies Act and save you the investor, facing the possibility of financial penalties through non-compliance.

• Erect a sign indicating that the property is for rent within a couple of days.
• Promote your property on websites such as ours with current and well taken images.
• Your property will be advertised and correctly described within all newspaper adverts (as agreed between both parties).
• The company should offer an unlimited number of property viewings until your property is rented.
• All property viewings should have a company representative in attendance. No keys should be offered.

• All applicants will be screened via the national tenancy data base.
• The most appropriate applicant should still be subject to your approval.
• After receiving an application form it should be examined within 24 hrs.
• Once selecting the most suitable applicant, the agency should have the appropriate documentation prepared for you to sign within two working days.
• The agency should prepare a management agreement and in this document it should stipulate the price at which the property will be rented. This price should not vary without your consent but should be reviewed on a periodic basis.

• Rental arrears should not be tolerated.
• The agency should be familiar with all the latest rental legislation.
• If the tenant falls behind in rental payments the agency should contact you about the most appropriate course of action.
• All rent received by the agency should end up in your nominated bank account within a couple of business days.
• Your statements should be checked carefully by the property manager.
• A competent agency will be able to provide an accurate annual income and expenditure statement within 30 days of the end of the financial year.

• For non-urgent matters tenants' requests will be attended to within a couple of days.
• An agency should not authorise any maintenance, unless the repair is excessive, without your consent.
• You can expect non-urgent maintenance requests to be attended to in approximately four hours.
• A three quote protocol should exist by the agency prior to organising a work action.
• All trades people entering your property should be fully licensed and insured to carry out any repairs.
• All reasonable steps should be taken to obtain the best possible price and outcome for you.
• You should receive a copy of invoices of all maintenance requests carried out on your property.

• Tenancies agreements should be reviewed 90 days prior to the expiry date.
• A good agency should offer a tenant a renewal period for the same amount of time as the initial agreement at the same rate or at market rates.
• The agency should also advise you at the same time if the tenant is not looking for a renewal of the lease.

• A property inspection report with appropriate documentation should occur six weeks after the commencement date of the lease.
• After the six week initial inspection your property should be inspected every three months.
• All documentation should be available to you at any time for comment.

• After notification of tenants vacating the property, the property manager should contact you immediately.
• Once contact has been made the tenant must notify the agency in writing as confirmation.
• Once you have accepted this, the agency will start advertising your property as vacant via all the above mentioned advertising mediums.

• A comprehensive property inspection should take place.
• If the property is in fair and reasonable condition deemed by the property manager a rental bond is to be returned to the departing tenant within one week.
• If the property is showing any signs of neglect and requires some maintenance or additional cleaning this cost will be deducted out of the departing tenant's bond.
• At the completion of this assessment, both you and the tenant should receive a copy of all relevant documentation within two working days.