You have a valuable investment - make sure it's being cared for
Glasshouse
Management
1- How do you choose a property manager?
2- How do you know if your current manager is any good?
As a property owner you have a very valuable investment
Naturally, you want that investment to be cared for, rent to be paid on time and issues dealt with promptly. How well your investment performs in the long run depends a lot on how it is managed.
But how do you know if it’s being managed well? There are many aspects to professional property management; we’ve covered some of the more obvious ones below.
How To Tell If You're Getting Good Service
Is documentation detailed enough?
Documentation and processes matter
If you ever need to claim for damages to your property, one of the first things your insurer will want to see is that you’ve taken every precaution to mitigate risk to your property.
Your insurer may take into account your screening and inspection process and ask to see occupants 1. Credit checks, 2. Reference checks, and 3. Poof of ID.
They may ask how you validated references, and assess the questions you asked to ensure they were robust enough. Do you have copies of this documentation? Is your current Property Manager able to provide you with this information?
What social proof is there?
Other peoples experiences matter
As the old adage goes, the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. What reviews do they have on Google My Business? What about Facebook?
How often does the Property Manager's name appear in the tenancy tribunal?
Past performance matters
Careful property managers take the time to thoroughly screen tenants and conduct detailed property inspections.
The extra time we put into selecting the right tenants, can save a lot of time, money and stress in the long run. For example, we –
- Carefully validate references to ensure they are from previous landlords, and not friends or relatives posing as one
- Assess applicants earnings to rent ratio to ensure they can afford the property
- Conduct credit checks
- Conduct Ministry of Justice checks
Almost all issues with rent arrears, property damage or illegal behaviour can be avoided through a robust selection process. Careful screening should highlight potential red-flags; but if on the off-chance they are missed, the inspection process should raise them.
Like most things in life, experience matters most when times are tough.
An astute Property Manager knows what to look for, and will act quickly to do what’s necessary to safeguard your investment.
How well potential issues are addressed at the onset can have a huge bearing on outcomes in the long run. Our team strives to ‘nip issues in the bud’ before they escalate.
If you find a property manager’s name appearing frequently in the tenancy tribunal, you have to ask yourself 1. What are they doing wrong at the screening process? 2. Why aren’t they picking up on potential issues during property inspections, and 3. What are they doing to manage them?
Are you paid weekly?
Weekly rental payments provide regular cash-flow, the ability to offset mortgage costs (particularly on larger portfolios), and immediate visibility if a tenant misses a payment.
How well is rental income managed?
Anyone can say they have a ‘zero policy for rent arrears’, but that doesn’t mean all of their tenants pay their rent on time.
We’re going to be honest with you, to have hundreds of people pay their rent on time, every week isn’t a realistic goal. There are many reasons why people don’t pay their bills on time, and rent is a bill like any other.
What’s important is how rent arrears are managed.
Ask potential Property Managers to explain their rent arrears policy to you including –
- What steps they take to ensure the tenants they select can pay their rent in the first place
- How they monitor rent payments
- What they do when a payment is missed
- What their current rent arrears are by way of average weeks
Glasshouse Property Managers assess the rent payment abilities of all tenants. If we feel the rent is too high for their level of income, we won’t rent the property to them. We believe that this is the role of a good Property Manager, to foresee issues and put measures in place to mitigate the risk of them occurring.
Before and After Glasshouse
Our clients often tell us the experience they have as our client is completely different from that they’ve had before. Here are some examples of what we’ve found when we’ve come into manage properties that have been with other agencies.
Be sure to click on each item to learn why it’s important.
Before Glasshouse
Important because if you need to claim for insurance, you may be asked to provide these.
Important because if testing detects levels of methamphetamine, you have no recourse unless you can prove the property was free of meth prior to the tenant moving in.
Important because if damage occurs you need to be able to provide detailed property inspections and prove when the damage was picked up on.
It’s about paying attention and knowing what to look for. If we can pick up on issues at the onset, we can manage them better. Some obvious signs are –
- Broken windows
- People sleeping in lounge
- Stains on the floor
- Drug paraphernalia
After Glasshouse
Carefully validated references, credit checks and Ministry of Justice Checks. Rent pay-ability assessed. We screen each tenant as if we were screening them for our own home.
Important because if testing detects levels of methamphetamine, you can prove the property was free of meth prior to the tenant moving in.
Weekly payments mean we can provide greater control over your income and act faster if a payment is missed.
Photos provide evidence that a property is being cared for. In the event of a claim, you’ll be asked to produce them.
This is important, as it ensure’s there no objections or grounds for dispute further down the track.
We know what signs to look for so to prevent issues from escalating. If we notice any red-flags, we act to protect your investment.
