Property Manager questionaire

[GO DO IT]

Property Management

Hi Fraser,

Great thread. We have been involved in property full-time for over 5 years. We ended up purchasing about 70 properties in different locations in New Zealand, the majority being in Hamilton

We have experienced some good property management (which to be honest was quite isolated) and some really bad management.

We have had properties under professional management 'trashed' with tenants doing a runner and no bond left. All which could have been avoided with better management.

We have found the fees many companies charge to be excessive and their service to be inadequate.

Long story cut short, we have now formed our own company in Hamilton and decided to manage our own properties and other landlords investments as well. We are extremely 'pro landlord'. Gosh, someone has to be. You can only understand a huge 'nonsensical maintenance charge' when you are the one paying for it. We have found many property managers have no idea what a small maintenance job should cost, they simply hand over the landlords cheque book to the tradesman, well it feels like it.

Inspections should be FREE!! and they should immediately pick up any damage
Management should not be costing any more than 6%
A landlord should not be charged for the placing of a tenant.
Advertising should be FREE to the landlord
Managers should not have 250 - 300 properties each to attempt to manage, they do not have enough time to do them justice. Having that many means the manager gets paid well, but the recipient 'the landlord' is the one who is ultimately paying.

Property managers do not need to be greedy, they need to be property investors to understand property investors

Derrick & Robyn Marsters

[Traff]

PMs

Well said Derrick and Robyn - I know a few serious landlords in Auckland who now own their own or share of PM companies and they are exceptional to work for from our companies point of view and the landlords both in regard to property maintenance and renovating for profit not just wasting money- experience counts for everything - a lot of PMs dont own property or even their own house ..........

Mark Trafford

[FJW]

Ladies and gentleman,

Just want to say a big THANK YOU to all you wonderful people who took the time out of your busy schedules to take the time to answer my 'property management questionnaire'. The feed back and knowledge that you have given me is absolutely invaluable and powerful.

I think this site is an amazing tool to arm yourselves and elevate your financial IQ and its all free it just cant get better than that. I get a real buzz out of talking to like minded property people as they are very rare to come by and I cherish every moment I get

In my property investing career I've ended up sacking truck loads of property managers and in very short times for basically all the reasons that you have given me because they (SOME) are just absolutely incompetent (too many reasons to list). I was talking with a client over a coffee last night and she told me a horror story of a property manager who managed to let the tenants get behind in rent up to FOUR MONTHS. I couldn't believe it seriously.....whats ya thoughts about this guys and gals?

Warm Regards,

Fraser

[One]

Crazy. If I want my property mismanaged that much I can do it myself!

[Perry]

Some Skin In The Game

Nothing like a bit of direct involvement to sharpen
ones acuity in such things. I've been peering closely
at some aspects concomitant on this thread.

Although it says it's under construction, the six
percent site wont open in Firefox or Opera and
displays too wide for a large screen monitor in
MS' Internet Intruder Thingamewhatsit.
(yes, I'm biased against IE)

Like six percent, flatfee's site gives no physical
office address and only shows a few properties
available, including one missing that's shown as
available on Trademe. But at least the site fits
nicely into a screen.

The [properties] button on six percent doesn't
work and the grammar, syntax and punctuation
generally, are, well, ahhh, open to improvement.
(You do have some properties, don't you?)

Two of the rentals on flatfee have the same pix.
Seems to be two places available in a block of
flats, perhaps, but identical pix for 1 x 2 b/rooms
and 1 x 3 b/rooms?

Six percent's bio page refers to four people,
yet there are only three pictures.

Some of those things may be attributable to the
web page designer. But some are not. Maybe
some of those extolling their virtues in this thread
and elsewhere need to sharpen up a little, too?

There's always the chance that some prospects
will muse: sloppy on the web - sloppy on the job.
.

[muppet]

Fully agree with you Perry, what a poor website.
I clicked on the link and all I got was I’m feeling a lot more positive about being a landlord with 6percent Ltd in charge... Robyn Harris
nothing else.

There's always the chance that some prospects
will muse: sloppy on the web - sloppy on the job.

[Keys]

Fully agree with you Perry, what a poor website.
I clicked on the link and all I got was I’m feeling a lot more positive about being a landlord with 6percent Ltd in charge... Robyn Harris
nothing else.

As did I through Chrome. Went there with IE and had a different result.

[Property Man]

I concur Keys, I just did the same, and yes, I.E works. I have informed them as I am sure they would want to know.

Cheers
Aaron

[GO DO IT]

Considerably more to property management than a website.

Hi, some fair comments about our website. It is currently 'under construction', our property management business is going nicely. Thank goodness you don't need to sit on the computer all day to have an efficient property management business.

The web designer is working on our website as we speak, it should be running property by Monday.

In the meantime our landlords are getting their rents collected, their properties inspected at regular intervals, their maintenance kept in check etc

As to the fourth person we mention on our website, the other Directors wife, we didn't feel it necessary to put her picture on the site. Although she is fully supportive of her husband, she is not currently active in our company.

Once again thanks for your comments, check out the website on monday.

Regards

[whitt]

Interesting that 6%Ltd is promoting a fee structure at 4%.

Is this viable long term?? Something seems lacking to me. Does not seem enough to cover overheads and wages unless you have an obscene number of properties to manage.

http://www.6percent.co.nz/index_files/Page409.html

[Keys]

An obscene number of properties lend themselves to overworked PM's. Maybe the 4% is on properties when they take them over and then goes up to 6% with rent increases? Maybe the 4% is for managements of 5 or more properties? Maybe it needs to be made more clear on the web site?

[whitt]

Maybe the PM doesn't mind working for $7 an hour either

[Glenn]

Well my goodness I do not have a web site.
Please forgive me fellow netites.
I got asked for one last week by a potential new client.
The first question was what do we charge.
He gave me his home / potential management address for me to drop the management papers off to.
There on the gate was a Green door for sale sign.
PM's are better off without those sort of clients.
As for the lovely young ladies that are described as being bubbly on company web sites. Well my goodness. It looks like they are trying to sell young ladies for pleasure. What sort of idiot describes the sexual desirability of their staff.

[hamilton]

Kiwi's can be so incredibly negative

I am new to property talk, however certainly not new to property investing and have been reading a few threads with varying interest.

It would appear that the first reaction some of you have here is to bag people that you know nothing about. Why is that? Could it be you have your own agenda and the only way to feel good about yourself is to put someone else down? It would seem sadly to be a very New Zealand trait, ie tall poppy.

Should we not encourage people to give it a go, and do their best. In some countries they even ask "what can I do to help".

Just a thought. I have always taught my children "If you can't be nice, don't be nasty".

After all it is always uplifting to read something positive.

I will go see if I can find a positive thread to read.


Bye for now
New Zealand Investor

[Glenn]

You do make some good points there for a first time poster.
Firstly welcome to the forum.

Ideas do need to be kicked around in most societies in order to shake out the truth. This is a process that has led to the advancement of knowledge for hundreds of years.
It started well before internet forums.
From time to time societies stop this and trust the "establishment" be it the church, government, or various learned establishments like universities, or craft societies.
These power groups have a vested interest in keeping the status quo.

The downside of kicking around ideas is sometimes the people with the new ideas are kicked around.
I think someone who is prepared to stand up and suggest a new idea is well on their way to success and admiration. Certainly from time to time they will be laughed at and scorned but surely that is better than going the way of Byers or dare I suggest even wonderful people like Hubbard.

With out a doubt you are an intelligent successful person from whom we could all learn at least something. Why not take the risk of sharing some ideas. Otherwise you run the risk of being worse than the very people (posters) that you are suggesting are not being nice.
Some of the posters (like me) even take the risk of serious public ridicule outside this forum by posting under their own name. You have avoided that risk. Good on you but have a heart for other peoples feelings. Most of us property managers have managed to surpress most feelings but we are still out there in the real world doing what we can to help others.