When buying an investment property it is important that you consider, not only ways you can manufacture growth into that property, but also the best ways you can have an investment property without it costing you an arm and a leg. You should get the best and maximum return on your investment.
There are a few things you need to ensure a successful purchase of an investment property:
1. First and foremost you have to go to the Core Reasons as to WHY you want to invest in property in the first place?
2. You then need a TEAM of Experts in the field Guiding you and Educating you through the whole process on How, What, Where and Why you need to invest.
3. That’s when you then need to create a Wealth Creation Plan with the help of a TEAM.
Once you have this understanding and knowledge it is time to proceed with sourcing the right property and move forward.
Here’s one of the things to look for…
You’ve just bought an investment property, and now it’s time to get that property rented…the only problem is you don’t have any experience selecting a property manager.
These are some of questions you may want to ask:
- What should I look for in a property manager?
- How can I make sure I’m getting the best return on investment?
- What makes a great property manager?
- How much should I pay?
In today’s article we share 4 things to look for in a great Property Manager that will allow you to sort the good from the bad and get your new investment property rented and managed fast.
1. History of good performance
Past performance is key. This doesn’t mean you go out and find the guy with the largest rent roll (number of properties under management) in the area. It means you do some research into a number of high performing companies in the area.
Some great questions to ask are:
- Do they specialise in units or houses?
- What’s their rental vacancy rate?
- What do their clients say?
- Can you get the names and numbers of past clients who no longer use their service?
- How many properties do they manage in your area?
- What are their business goals moving forward?
You want to partner with a company or individual who has history with the type of property you just purchased.
2. Good Communication
You’ve called around a number of agencies in your area, and you’re waiting for a few property managers to get back to you. You want you’re your property manager to be efficient and attentive – after all if they can’t get back to you in 24 hours how can they get back to your tenant?
You want them to be diligent with their communication from the get go and you want them to touch base with you regularly.
The best property managers are open and honest about issues and provide regular feedback in regards to how your tenants are going and where they are at with their lease.
3. Connections, relationships and systems
You want your property manager to have a strong network that they can rely on whenever issues arise with your investment property or the tenants. You also need to know they have a great handyman, electrician, plumber, painter, locksmith and groundskeeper.
A great property manager will have well established relationships with these trades, and ensure your property is maintained to a professional standard.
More than anything the right property manager will have systems in place for dealing with issues, and a standard process for enquiries, paperwork, and communicating with you, the owner.
4. Fees
The first question you will want to know after you have identified a potential property manager is how much do they charge.
You don’t want to be paying an arm and a leg for your management, but you also get what you pay for in this industry.
The trick is to find the balance between a great manager and a great price.
I personally never pay more than 8%+ GST for property management.
You have also negotiate 1 weeks rent for a new tenancy and make sure I am not paying any of the additional fees that agents love to try and charge unsuspecting owners including administration, postage, advertising, etc.
Remember cheap is often nasty, and you need to be confident you can rely on your property manager to do the best thing by your asset and your tenants.
You want a long-term relationship with your property manager and your tenants – after all it is much easier and cheaper to have one long term tenant and one long term manager than dealing with someone whom you don’t get along with and who isn’t delivering value.
We have only just covered selecting a property manager. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the things you need to look at really carefully once you have purchased your investment property.
That is why you have Ample Property Solutions DO all the work for you, So you can have that piece of mind and FOCUS on what you do best.
Remember LEVERAGE is KEY!