Investors ask: Dodgy property managers
Q. I’m purchasing a new house to rent out and I need to find the best property manager to take care of my house and tenants. What signs should I keep an eye out for to indicate a dodgy property manager?
A.The first trick I always use when I’m looking to select a property manager in the area is to ask whether they are specialists in their field, or if they are part of a broader real estate agency business. That way, I know their business doesn’t rely on commission for sales; it relies on being the best property managers they can be. So they focus on specialising in that space.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
The second thing I do is contact the state agency association body, such as the relevant Real Estate Institute, and I ask who has won the awards for best property manager in the area where I’ve got my property. I ask for the winner and the runners up for the past two years. That gives me a good list from which to start refining my search. If their business is solely reliant on property management and I know they’ve been going for a good period of time, I know that it’s not going to be a second-rate part of their business.
I also want to know what sort of tenant they think the property would attract, and whether they’ll be low maintenance or high maintenance. I want them to be realistic with me; I don’t want them to over quote how much rent I’m going to get.
Ben Kingsley, founding director, Empower Wealth
More from this writer:
