Leaving overseas renting my home ?

[ammar]

Hi,

I am planning to move overseas and thinking of renting my house using agent. But from what I heard and read in this forum about bad PMs, I am quite worried about mismanagement by the PM, especially I still have high mortgage to pay.

Any tips, advice you can give me ?

Many thanks

[Keithw]

1) find agent with good reputation
2) remove EVERYTHING in your house that you value.

Tenants simply dont care about your stuff like you do.
I have had furniture and equipment in my place for 10 years or more & once placed in a rental it struggles to last more than a year or so with tenants.

[sidinz]

1) find agent with good reputation

I did exactly that and was still very, very disappointed with the way things went. I was gobsmacked when they won an award - 'best PM' type of thing - just after I sacked them.

ammar - do you have a friend or relative who you can nominate as the local contact to organise any tradies/do inspections but keep a track of rent payments yourself from overseas?

Some PMs also do a 'pick'n'mix' service where you can choose which tasks they take care of.

[Nick G]

Where is your property?

[ammar]

I did exactly that and was still very, very disappointed with the way things went. I was gobsmacked when they won an award - 'best PM' type of thing - just after I sacked them.

ammar - do you have a friend or relative who you can nominate as the local contact to organise any tradies/do inspections but keep a track of rent payments yourself from overseas?

Some PMs also do a 'pick'n'mix' service where you can choose which tasks they take care of.

I will ckeck with a friend. what was your bad experience if I can ask.

Thanks

[ammar]

Where is your property?

it is in manukau

[Nick G]

You only hear about bad PMs and never the good ones. I know two operators in Manukau, both whose businesses are not connected to RE agencies so they live and die by their service. They charge a little more than other agencies so can afford more time on their clients. Would you like an introduction?

You can give quite firm parameters of the kind of tenant you would like and request to review and discuss applicants with your PM until you get comfortable with the process, however reasonable wear and tear should be expected. Your PM can do 3-monthly inspections. There will be wear and tear on furniture so you may want to consider putting it into storage or if you have a garage moving what you want to keep into the garage while you are away, if you will be away a long time you may consider selling some furniture. A lot of "home owner" flooring/carpet and wall covering will be less hard-wearing than typical landlord stock - however if you can rent your house for $500 pw then that is $25,000 per year which can go towards fixing any issues that happen.

[Keys]

Your PM can do 3-monthly inspections.

Just to clarify.
Your PM can do inspections every 4 weeks.

[FJW]

Hi Ammar


Interview two to three of them and ask them to back up what they claim they say. Check to see if they have a guarantee and if they do what the additional terms and conditions include for it.

Check out their social media reviews as well.

If you want some recommendations then drop me a PM.

Hope this helps

[chrisrussell]

Go recommendations every time!
Anyone can talk the talk and answer questions, fake social media reviews, win 'awards'. Recommendation is everything.

[ammar]

You only hear about bad PMs and never the good ones. I know two operators in Manukau, both whose businesses are not connected to RE agencies so they live and die by their service. They charge a little more than other agencies so can afford more time on their clients. Would you like an introduction?

You can give quite firm parameters of the kind of tenant you would like and request to review and discuss applicants with your PM until you get comfortable with the process, however reasonable wear and tear should be expected. Your PM can do 3-monthly inspections. There will be wear and tear on furniture so you may want to consider putting it into storage or if you have a garage moving what you want to keep into the garage while you are away, if you will be away a long time you may consider selling some furniture. A lot of "home owner" flooring/carpet and wall covering will be less hard-wearing than typical landlord stock - however if you can rent your house for $500 pw then that is $25,000 per year which can go towards fixing any issues that happen.

Well, 20K to the bank and 5k for insurance, rate,agent..etc, so any serious issue will be from my pocket.

Could you please PM their names and I will check.
Thank you

[Minz]

We have four properties under management and we are in the Arabian Gulf. One of the properties is our family home and the other three are IPs. Overall, all has been good for seven years BUT I have fired two lots of property managers and replaced them. I am very tight on following up (most are slack) but can't be when I am regularly following up on issues. Key advice:
(1). Have a flexible loan with at least six months mortgage interest payments available in it (i.e. Have it paid down as much as possible to give you plenty of wriggle room).
(2). Have a Power of Attorney in place for signing if something goes horribly wrong
(3). Do a full walk through of your property every time you return to NZ and take notes - I am still following up with my "Award" winning Auckland PM on issues raised in June!
(4). Take advantage of any exchange rate benefits you get when earning in your new currency!

Best of luck.

[flyernzl]

The bottom line:

You can delegate the work
You can never delegate the responsibility.

[Quinovic - Kent Terrace]

Going with companies that have good recommendations is always a good plan.

Don't forget to ask them about their qualifications, if they're specialised in residential properties, and ask them about the specific processes they go through to ensure efficient management - for example we check every property for rent arrears every weekday at 8am and immediately call the tenant to inform them a rent arrear has occurred and begin our processes to getting the rent to the owner as soon as possible. Another question to ask is on average how long it takes them to fill a vacancy in the area.

Some other points to consider...

If you're planning on renting while you're away remember to put all your personal items into storage.

Do you have a garden? We recommend you hire a gardener before you leave because under the Residential Tenancies Act the tenant is only responsible for keeping the property reasonably tidy and clean until the end of the tenancy - that includes the garden. Unless stated otherwise in an agreement, tenants are only expected to mow the law and weed the garden. Plus, make sure you interview the gardener and fully understand what they mean by "maintain the garden" because a difference in opinion can also catch you out and leave you disappointment when you come back!