Nelson PIA December newsletter

[Glenn]

NELSON PROPERTY INVESTORS ASSOCIATION

December 2011 NEWSLETTER

PO Box 198 Nelson

Sorry folks but we have no meeting this month. However there havebeen some important things happening that you need to be informed about.

FLOW ON FROM LAST MEETING

President Godfrey and I had a meeting with Crombie Lockwood insurance brokers who has spoken to us at the November meeting. They are very keen to improve the service they provide to us and build the relationship. We emphasised that the important thing our members are always looking for is good service and competitive rates. The Association welcomes commissions but that is not our main focus. They are preparing a proposal for us. So watch this space.

TENANT OF THE YEAR

The inaugural Tenant of the year competition has been highly successful. These are the winners.

1st place: Craig Campbell

2nd equal: Barry Woodhead

2nd equal: Judy and Grant Pinkham

The Nelson Mail reporter and photographer turned up at the prize giving which resulted in a positive article in the newspaper. Congratulations to the winners and thanks for those landlords who nominated their best tenants.Councillor Gale Collingwood said she enjoyed being on the judging panel and thought the scheme was a great idea and it definitely will build a better public image of tenants and landlords.

TRADE ME ADVERTISING THROUGH NZPIF

Those readers who are full financial members of Nelson PIA would have received details of the new wonderful discount scheme provided via the NZPIF membership data base. I and others have spent untold hours entering pages of data and other clever things to get this scheme up and running. A few of you have already discovered that the plug has been pulled at the 11^th hour by Fairfax / Trade me. This has been a great disappointment to everyone. Messages keep drifting in from the NZPIF saying they are endeavouring to get it off the ground again. Meanwhile sorry folks but I do not know when or even if the bird will fly again. As of December 2011 itis a dead duck.

HOW IS NELSON DOING COMPARED WITH THE REST OF NEW ZEALAND

It is always a risky thing sayingyou live in the best part of the country. I recently lost a tenant who took a new job in Wellingtonat $12 per hour more than he was earning here. Another tenant has returned to Auckland because the opportunities seem better there. The media has been reporting that rents aregoing up in Auckland because of a shortage of housing there. Our company is always busy and other property managers report very few vacancies and high occupancy rates. I have been doodling around on Trademe and looking at properties to let advertisements.TM shows how many advertisements are listed for every area of the country. Now we all know that our vacancy list is shrinking but how does that compare with the rest of the country bearing inmind other cities are way bigger than us. The last census of 2006 figures easily available on the net show the number of dwellings in each area. Other tables show the percentage of rentals versus owner occupied and yet again another table show ownership of the rentals that being private versus HousingNZ. Clearly HNZ will not be advertising on TM so by combining these various things together a picture of our market is suddenly available.I am not sure what is happening in Gisborne. But clearly Tasman followed by West Coast then Nelson with Canterbury following up behind are leading the country on the greatest pressure on rental properties.

This newsletter is published with theSupport of SBS Bank and Summit Property management.

2006 Census
Regional council
Total Occupied Private Dwelling	percent rentals	percent private landlord	rentals in private sector	Trademe rental adverts	rentals / adverts
Gisborne Region	15,663	38.2	71.0	4248.119	17	249.9
Tasman Region	17,268	24.2	91.2	3811.117	51	74.7
West Coast Region	12,771	30.7	78.4	3073.826	42	73.2
Nelson Region	17,190	31.4	85.3	4604.204	92	50.0
Canterbury Region	201,657	29.6	82.2	49065.57	997	49.2
Taranaki Region	40,278	30.1	83.8	10159.64	224	45.4
Hawke's Bay Region	55,221	32.1	77.5	13737.6	386	35.6
Northland Region	55,524	31.4	81.6	14226.58	443	32.1
Bay of Plenty Region	96,165	32.7	88.1	27703.89	867	32.0
Auckland Region	437,985	36.2	80.4	127474.7	4,462	28.6
Southland Region	35,799	26.5	87.0	8253.459	290	28.5
Manawatu-Wanganui Region	84,768	33.2	79.3	22317.38	802	27.8
Marlborough Region	16,842	27.5	80.8	3742.292	143	26.2
Wellington Region	168,846	33.9	79.6	45562.08	1786	25.5
Waikato Region	140,268	34.6	86.0	41738.15	1,677	24.9
Otago Region	75,231	31	84.9	19800.05	1133	17.5

So the next time you are comparing apples with apples with fellowlandlords / tenants show them this chart.This surely must be a good reason to put our rents up.

THIS IS THE SEASON TO MY MERRY AND WARY

It is my practice to remind you landlords to be careful at this timeof the year.Tenants (like the rest of us) all come under a lot of financial pressure at this time of the year.Missed rent is an ongoing problem. Failure to communicate about missed rent despite the natural wish to extend good will, peace and charity,could be your down fall. Remember check those bank statements carefully at this time of the year. With WINZ paying people early and the banks operating a fewdays later than normal there is little wonder why many tenants miss their rent payments. The longer you leave advising your tenants about missed rent theharder it is for them to fix the problem. The traditional log jam to getTenancy Tribunal hearings seems to be earlier this year. I already have three tribunal appointments on the 16 January this being the first hearing date of the year.Applications for those hearings were made in early November.

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