18th October 2014
DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE ROLE OF PROPERTY MANAGERS Australians love to take a “DIY approach”, and one area in which investment property buyers sometimes think they can save money is by managing their property themselves. “Why pay someone to do what I can do myself?”, is their rationale. But can you? The notion that a property manager’s role basically involves handing out keys, making a few phone calls to check references and calling a plumber in an emergency is outdated. Legislative requirements and tenant expectations mean this is now a complex and demanding role, requiring training and up-to-date knowledge. In Australia, about 80 per cent of properties are managed by professional property managers. Both investors with multi-property portfolios and “mum and dad” investors who have just one or two properties other than their family home realise this is no job for an amateur.
Yarraville
104 Somerville Road 9316 9000
Williamstown 1/66 Douglas Parade (Corner Stevedore Street) 9393 1600 www.jasstephens.com.au
Most of us know a little of what a property manager does: advertising properties and selecting tenants, checking references, managing maintenance issues, including after hours, inspecting properties, having them cleaned and repaired between tenants if necessary and collecting rent and bonds. But in Victoria legislative requirements, in particular, the Residential Tenancies Act, Owners Corporations Act, and a range of occupational health and safety requirements, mean there is far more to this role than the layperson may realise. Property managers must also comply with the latest privacy legislation when dealing with landlord and tenant information.The days when the receptionist handed out keys in between taking phone calls are gone, with professional property managers requiring extensive training to keep up-to-date with what is required and the many potential pitfalls. That’s worth keeping in mind when negotiating your manager’s fee. Property management is covered in both REIV’s Agents Representatives Course – the minimum qualification to work as a real estate agent in Victoria – and the Certificate IV in Property Services (Real Estate) necessary to become a licensed real estate. A number of property managers are fully licensed and some are directors of their firms. The introductory qualification includes topics such as legislative requirements, dispute resolution – a minefield for the untrained amateur – completing documentation in a legally compliant manner, managing leases, terminating leases, handling moneys and maintaining a secure key register. And that’s just for starters. The licence course has more advanced units on leasing properties and listing properties for lease with topics such as reviewing applications, implementing procedures for landlord approval, completing documentation about inspections and managing termination of leases. In fact four of the advanced units cover almost 50 different topics. So if you are planning on managing your own property think twice: do you understand tenants’ rights? And do you understand your own? Those midnight phone calls from the tenants could be the least of your problems. Information courtesy of the REIV Craig J. Stephens Managing Director / Officer in Effective Control M 0418 547 938
Jas H Stephens Pty Ltd (Jas Stephens) is bound by and adheres to the Australian Privacy Principals (“Principals”) contained in the Privacy Act 1988. Those Principals regulate most of our activities with respect to personal information collected, stored, used and disclosed by is. Our full privacy policy can be found at www.jasstephens.com.au. The purpose for which we may collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information are:-for security reasons- to keep a record of who has attended open inspections; to contact you in respect of the property and other properties we believe may be of interest to you; to provide you with a contract of sale and other documents you may request; to update you generally through the course of the campaign. We may also use your personal information to market other properties which we think may be of interest to you and to send you marketing material from our agency. You can always “opt out” if you do not wish to receive marketing material. By providing your personal information you consent to us using your personal information as described above. If you choose not to give us your information, we may not be able to provide an effective service to you. Your personal information is stored in a combination of computer facilities and paper based files and other records, which are located on site at our office and off site at secured premises. If you would like to discuss how we manage your personal information or complain if you think we have breached the Principals or to update/correct the information we are holding please call 9316-9000 or email privacyofficer@jasstephens.com.au We have obtained all information in this document from sources we believe to be reliable, however, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. Prospective purchasers are advised to carry out their own investigations. We strongly recommend that you clearly register your interest with our representative at the open for inspection, so that in the event of a sale being imminent, your position is protected. We make every effort to contact all interested parties prior to a property being sold.
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