Call to plug property management gap

[muppet]

Call to plug property management gap



GREG NINNESS - Sunday Star Times Last updated 05:00 05/12/2010


Photos: Grahame Cox, Phil Doyle
Auckland Property Leasing general manager Scott Ball, above, and sole director Grant Collecutt, below. At bottom, the company's offices in Otahuhu.

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The shakeup of the property industry should be extended to management firms, key players tell Greg Ninness.


THE REAL Estate Institute intends to ask the government to regulate the residential property management industry to exclude unsuitable or shoddy operators.
The institute's chief executive, Helen O'Sullivan, said the government excluded property managers when it overhauled the real estate industry, meaning anyone could set themselves up as a property manager and start charging tenants letting fees and collecting rent from tenants.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/business/4422268/Call-to-plug-property-management-gap

[User Name]

About time. Should have happened
when the review happened.

[Perry]

Oh dear. Another arrant crock of cr*ap. And one
driven by unmitigated self-interest, too. Oh, the
irony . . .

THE REAL Estate Institute intends to ask the government to regulate the residential property management industry to exclude unsuitable or shoddy operators. The institute's chief executive, Helen O'Sullivan, said the government excluded property managers when it overhauled the real estate industry, meaning anyone could set themselves up as a property manager and start charging tenants letting fees and collecting rent from tenants.

A read through many threads here on PropertyTalk
will reveal that the ranks of unsuitable or shoddy
operators are dominated by REI members!

Start here and here for the latest.

Pot calling the kettle black just doesn't do it justice.

Helen O'Sullivan, your unabashed gall is breath-taking.
.

[SuperDad]

Even before the REAA 2008 anyone could set up shop as a PM. (What has changed under the amended RTA is that the ability to charge key money has now been extended to all "letting agents".)

It is interesting that what O'Sullivan neglects to mention is that under the REAA 2008 PM companies are no longer required to have their trust accounts audited. Anyone doing this (like I am) is doing so entirely voluntarily, at significant expense. So simply being a member of the REINZ, for example, does not mean your money is any safer.

[WGN ex-property manager]

If they do this, I expect the unintended consequences to be larger than the problem they think needs fixing.

If the policy wonks were actually smart enough to devise legislation that worked in the real world I would support regulating the PM sector.....but they're not.

Hopefully this will all blow over in a cloud of boredom.

[Hec]

Spot on Robin,
Still comes down to service and how good that service is. If pm not performing, move on. There are few good ones out there that understand and actually do what it takes. The rest are ticket clippers.

[Property Man]

I would expect most if not all property management companies that post on here are decent honest hardworking PM's.

I believe this because it is obviously a passion for us as we also take time to communicate on here, help each other and give guidance.

Where are the Real Estate Agencies?





Regards
Aaron

[Perry]

Hiding behind the skirts of
Helen O'Sullivan, perhaps?
.

[Bob Kane]

Where are the Real Estate Agencies?

It would seem few RE agents care or are interested in the housing market.
There's only a handful of agents who contribute to PT which is a pity.
Many agents put money into glossy cards/pamphlets/marketing material etc to raise their profiles.
And yet, if they only spent some time on PT, they could build their reputation amongst property buyers/sellers for free.
Is there a reason why agents avoid PT?

[User Name]

Is there a reason why agents avoid PT?

The audience is reasonably well informed.

[WGN ex-property manager]

Because they think it doesn't make them any money?

Most folks here are wanting to BUY a house, rather than SELL a house.

When investors buy a house they are buying the numbers, not the agent.

When people sell a house through an agent they are actually buying the services of the agent... this is the part of the transaction where business development activities are worth it for an agent.

Most agents are terrified of investors, as they see them as money grabbing low-ballers who just cause trouble in tenders.

[Perry]

"Reasonably well?" That could be an understatement.
That said, there may well be some good 'uns, who
don't really want to waste any time defending the
others (here, on PT) who may be less so.

Many agents are quite likely "terrified of investors,"
(especially those on these forums) because any
agent quickly sees that BS doesn't work on invest-
ors, like it does on PPOR buyers.
.

[Bob Kane]

Many agents are quite likely "terrified of investors,"
(especially those on these forums) because any
agent quickly sees that BS doesn't work on invest-
ors, like it does on PPOR buyers.
.

I guess those sorts of agents are the ones who get spat out during each slump.
It needn't be the case.
An agent who was passionate about property and service should be able to work with investors.
After all, commercial RE agents work successfully with investors all the time.
Maybe the RE industry needs to raise the standard of their residential entry level.

[WGN ex-property manager]

Selling to dumb punters is easy...... why make the effort to sell to investors with all their numbers and spreadsheets and pointy questions.

To be fair there are a smattering of agents who are good with investment properties and worth cultivating.... just don't go trying to convert the rest into something they are not.

If they are waxing on about the color of the kitchen instead of the yield then they are not going to know the market rent and building regs to convert the basement....so do your own legwork.

[essence]

I manage my own properties because of past bad experiences with RE PM's.

I'm currently renting furnished accommodation, which I sourced through a RE PM. To say that the level of service of terrible, is an understatement.

I asked for a chattels inventory BEFORE I moved into the property. Well, that didn't arrive. When I went to do a pre-move in inspection of chattels provided, I discovered no TV OR Radio (one or the other would've been good!) and no vacuum cleaner. When I took my checked inventory back to the agent and asked why hadn't she faxed me the inventory earlier, her comment "Oh, i was going to do that but got busy and forgot". WTF!!!

I paid Bond + two weeks rent in advance. On the fourth week, I received a call from the LL asking where week 3's rent was.

Being a LL, I know what it's like not receiving rent, so I had started up an A/P the day I moved into the property. Through investigation, I found out that the dumb PM had provided me with the wrong Bank account!! I got it sorted out with the LL and he's all happy now.

When I told the PM, she had the gall to say "Well couldn't you work out which numbers to take out?". Hey, I admit to being fantastic but not to being a freaking mind-reader!!! I mean, honestly, she couldn't even get that right. *sigh*

If this is the level of service tenants put up with every day, I'm not surprised that they think PM's and LL's are stupid, mean, money grubbing and don't get maintenance done. The last probably because the PM hasn't told the LL there's maintenance to be done.

End of rant......