Look beyond fees for effective management

Nearly 150 of First National Real Estate’s property managers recently gathered in Melbourne for the network’s annual
Property Management Conference – ‘Network, Share, Evolve’.

The professional development forum was chiefly focused on issues affecting the efficient management of millions of
dollars of property investments nationally.

Because of changes to Australian tax law, investors can now borrow for the purposes of property investment and this has resulted in an exponential increase in the amount of property acquired by Self Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSFs). As a result, property managers must be prepared.

A recent tax ruling now allows trustees to use money in their fund to renovate property as well. That means property managers need to be equipped to guide landlords who own investments, as part of their SMSF, toward appropriate, cost effective renovations, using licensed tradespeople. First National Real Estate has taken steps to assure that its
property managers are aware of qualified specialists in the industry and can point customers towards a range of providers.

According to First National, most property investors spend too little time assessing the skills of their property manager and need to look beyond fees when choosing who will manage their investment portfolio.

Property Managers frequently manage real estate portfolios exceeding the value of most financial advisors yet rarely
receive such recognition.

The commitment required to effectively maintain properties, quality client relations, legislative compliance, and,
excellence in customer service is sometimes extra-ordinary or even super-human.

Yet, when choosing a property manager the network indicates that the majority of landlords and investors look only at
management fees, thinking that property management represents little more than the collection of rent.

Investors need to consider the systems and experience behind the agency that they are entrusting the management of their properties to.

Professionally qualified and trained property managers bring so much more to the equation than rent collection. You only need to experience one problem with a tenant to begin to understand the importance of a comprehensive appreciation of the laws governing tenancy. Paying a slightly higher fee for a more professional manager makes a huge difference, even without a problem tenancy.