9 Reasons to Hire a Property Manager for your Investment Property

You invested in your first property. Should you manage the property yourself or hire a good property manager to handle your investment? It depends on what your skills and goals are.

Are your goals to be an property investor or simply the on-site owner? As the on-site owner you will be responsible for collecting the rent and repairing broken appliances. Your time will be devoted to the renters needs. The investor spends valuable time answering the needs of the tenants. On the other hand, if you hire a property manager, the investor could spend time finding and investing in more property.

The 9 things a good manager will bring to a property are;

• Management skills of work performance, tenants and contractors 
• Good negotiation ability with contractors 
• Experience with investment properties 
• Organization of daily needs such as trash removal, grounds keeping and repairs 
• Good communication skills with tenants, contractors, the investor and legal agencies 
• Accounting skills are necessary for collecting rents, receipts and expenses 
• Data entry skills of daily work and complaints, supplies and equipment needed 
• Research skills for finding tenants and contractors
• Marketing experience in order to minimise vacancy periods

The day to day details necessary to operate a successful property is better left to a manager with the skills needed. An experienced property manager will tend to the daily needs of the tenants, maintain records and respond to the needs of the building upkeep.

The manager interacts with the tenants in a friendly but professional way. They will listen and respond to complaints, deal with the rent and order the necessary repairs. The manager takes over the daily management, allowing the investor to profit without becoming involved personally with the residents.

A good property manager will need to manage construction and development of new facilities, maintain the repairs and maintenance of the property. They should have good organizational skills. They will need to insure the work needed, be it new wiring and electrical, the construction of new facilities or the repair of a leaky faucet, is done in quickly at a reasonable cost.

They need to know how to use the latest computer software for managing rents, repair costs and billing. Often the accounting of the rent receipts and billing expenses will be kept on record through some type of software.

One good skill needed by a property manager is good customer relations and communication. They will act as the liaison between tenants and construction crews, contractors and insurance agencies. The manager will also enforce renter and owner laws, the most common being evictions. They are responsible for collecting the rent and keeping good records of payments and repair work needed.

Good negotiation skills are needed as well. He or she will negotiate the best prices for cleaning services and for any work performed to keep the property well maintained. They will find the best lawn care facilities services at a good price. They will negotiate the lowest bids for the best plumbing and electrical contractors. An experienced manager will have resources available to them at a moment’s notice. They will know which carpet cleaner and painters are available to have your empty units ready within days to rent.

The property manager is there to take care of everything. They automatically schedule tasks and collect the rent. The details of managing the property successfully are better left to an experienced manager so the investor is free to look other investment opportunities.

Interested in finding out more about turning to True Property Management for your Melbourne investment property?   Simply email us at anne@truepmvic.com.au or give us a call on (03) 9001 1559.