Archive for July, 2009
10 Questions to ask your Property Management Agency
While most property investors spend a huge amount of effort and energy finding the right property to purchase, they rarely spend the time looking for a good property manager. This is asking for trouble! A good property manager is like an insurance policy on your investment. The main criteria most landlords use to select their managing agency is price alone. This is very short sighted. As the old saying goes ‘you get what you pay for’. A cheap rental real estate agency will typically be operated by over worked staff trying to manage hundred of properties, constantly chasing their tail to keep up with the basics. A dedicated property management agency will ensure that your investment property is thoroughly managed. Your property should receive a higher level of service; more time spent on tenant selection, market research and scheduled inspections. This will ensure that your property is looked after, leased to the most appropriate tenants and achieved the highest rental yield possible.
Some property owners even try to manage their property themselves assuming that property management is simply collecting rent. Property manager’s job is much more than this. A good property manager should:
- Understand the current local real estate market, market forces and how to market your property effectively.
- Price the rent on your property at the right level to quickly rent out investment.
- Perform thorough tenant checks and background checks.
- Write up a comprehensive lease to protect the landlord.
- Lodge a bond on behalf of the landlord, to the authorities.
- Handle all repairs on the property, using only qualified tradesmen.
- Pay insurances, council rates and outgoing on behalf of the property owner.
- Keep up to date on complex and constantly changing legal issues.
Below is a list of 10 questions you should ask your property management agency before signing up for their services.
Is the real estate agency a specialised property management firm? Many real estate agencies offer property management as an after thought to the sales team. Property managers are seen as unimportant and are often overworked, looking after much too many properties badly instead of a smaller number effectively. Does the agency have local real estate knowledge and experience? Local rental market knowledge is critical in achieving the lowest vacancy rates and achieving the maximum rental price. Will I receive regular updates on my property? A good property management agency should keep the landlord well informed about their investment at all stages of the leasing process. Will I be assigned one dedicated property manager to deal with? Make sure that you are assigned only one property manager to deal with so that you can achieve an open and communicative relationship. Will my property manager attend court on my behalf? Your rental property manager should manage all aspects of your rental property, including attending court on your behalf if need be. How many properties do your property managers manage? Some mainstream agencies assign up to 300 properties to their property managers. This is much too many for an effective job to be done. Regular inspections, negotiating the best rent, keeping up to date with the property market all take a lot of time and energy. At most we suggest that 100 is the maximum properties a rental agent can effectively manage. Does your agency make regular rental increases on your property? A good property manager should be informed about the rental market and understand what the optimum rent achievable is for your house, unit or apartment. Is the managing director/rental agency owner involved in the property management agency on a day-to-day basis? A well-run rental real estate agency should have the director highly involved in the day to day running of the business. Do you do thorough checks on potential tenants to avoid my house/unit being rented out to bad tenants? All investment property owners should be informed about all lease applicants and their background before deciding on who are the best tenants to lease their property too. Is your agency up to date with the latest Internet advertising media? With all sort of social media around now days, it wpould be waste not to take advantage of these advertising avenues. Make sure your agent is maximising your properties exposure, therefore minimising your vacancy rates.
Just Rent Sydney would answer yes to all of the above!
Just Rent Sydney can handle the transfer of your rental property from your current real estate agency over to us without you having to be involved, making the transition seamless and easy.
Make the smart move.
Real Estate Guide to Buy or Rent Whangarei Northland and Coastal Property in New Zealand
Real Estate Investment in Whangarei New Zealand
Real estate business may be focused in so many aspects as an investment and as a method to earn money from. You can be a real estate agent and enjoy earning money while on the other hand, there are those who have the capital to earn being an investor in the buy and sell arena for a real estate business. In Whangarei New Zealand, however, there is a lot of available real estate business investment that you can get in to if you want to earn a significant amount of income from it.
Whangarei Real Estate Agent Marketing Tips
A Whangarei real estate agent in New Zealand may earn through real estate business by selling real estate property in so many ways and methods but so far, there are a few tips that I would like to give you to be able to earn good in this business. To be able to market a real estate property, you have to know where you can make such move or where to post your for sale property using the internet because we all know that the internet is the best medium there is if you are selling anything today. A few good ways to seek refuge for your product are forums and classifieds. Today there are a lot of free classifieds that you can post your for sale product. Forums can also be a good way to sell real estate. You can also try to market your real estate property using social media sites where you can post to multiple people who might just be interested to buy a real estate property in Whangarei. So far these are just a few ways and I know that there are a lot out there.
Different Real Estate Property Investment and Sale
In a real estate investment, there are a lot of different types that you can sell for interest of those who might be looking for the perfect type of property. Different people have different preferences for a real estate property that they wan to buy or rent or even lease for a period of time so to be able to allow your target clients to get a glimpse of what is there in the real estate industry in Whangarei Nez Zealand, you must have access to the different types of real estate properties being sold in the market today and make a list of them all. This is for the purpose of having each type under your profile just in case you have to present a client the different types of real estate property that you sell for choosing.
To get you an idea of what is in store if you are looking to sell real estate these are a few types. Coastal real estate, farmland real estate, northland real estate, beach real estate, resort real estate, ridge real estate and more. So far these are just a few but always feel free to make it more appealing and diverse for your clients. We all know that selling a real estate property either if it is for rent, lease or total sale depends on the choices that you can offer for your clients.
Role Of Real Estate Agent In Vacation And Second Home Markets
Second home sales have been increasing over the last few years with more people becoming second home owners. In 2005 alone, 40 percent of the homes sold were second homes. Demographics, all time low mortgage rates, and healthy rise in home prices have contributed to this development in the second home market. Besides these, a major factor that has helped augment the buying and selling of second homes is the real estate professional.
The National Association of Realtors conducted research on the profile of second-home owners in 2006. According to the NAR report entitled ‘2006 Profile of Second-Home Owners’, a majority of second home sales transactions are conducted using the services of real estate agents.
The statistics are remarkable; 64 % of vacation home buyers purchased their home using the services of a real estate agent by the end of 2005 – a marked increase from less than 50 % of vacation-home buyers in 2003. Also, 65 % of investment-home buyers purchased their home with the help of a real estate agent – an increase from 53 % of pre-2003. In comparison, only 14 % of vacation-home buyers and 7 % of investment-home buyers purchased directly from builders from 2003 to 2005.
The growing role of the real estate professional is evident from the following figures:
1. Of vacation home sales made, 71 % of them were second homes and 74 % of the sales were made using the services of a real estate agent.
2. Of the investment properties sold, 85 % of them were previously owned and 62 % of the sales were made using the services of a real estate agent.
The use of real estate agents in second home sales transactions varied according to the home’ location.
1. Buyers used a real estate agent more frequently while purchasing a vacation home located in a suburb/subdivision (56 %) or a rural area (57 %) than for homes in other locations.
2. About 66 % of buyers who purchased an investment property in an urban/central city area or in a suburb/subdivision, used the services of a real estate agent more frequently than those who purchased a home in other locations.
Real estate professionals continue to be the first source of information to second-home buyers (38 % of vacation-home buyers and 34 % of investment-home buyers). The real estate professional also plays a major role when second-home owners plan to buy additional properties. If you are thinking of buying a second home or vacation home, seek out the services of a real estate agent to guide you through your next home purchase.
1. The percentage of second home owners who are more likely to use a real estate agent in their next home purchase is quite high. Among vacation-home owners it is 79 % and investment-home owners 73 %.
2. Among second home owners, 65 % of vacation-home owners and 64% of investment-property owners are more likely to use a real estate agent in their next home sales.
Given these statistics, it is no wonder that the real estate agent plays a pivotal role in helping people buy and sell second homes. So whether you are a second-home buyer or seller, enlist the services of an agent for a smooth, hassle free real estate transaction.