by George Astudillo | Mar 5, 2018 | Presentation
Get this right and your property goes to the top of the list.
A clean property will always stand out.
It’s amazing the number of landlords with vacant properties looking for tenants, that allow their property to be presented in a dirty condition, even top end properties.
Property presentation is not just about looks to attract the right tenant; it also creates expectations.
The ‘Broken Windows Theory’, was the guiding principle behind the ‘zero tolerance’ clean-up of New York City in the 1980’s. It proposes that a building with broken windows is more likely to be vandalised further if left unrepaired because it creates the impression of apathy. Fixing the first broken window can prevent future acts of vandalism. Experiments with graffiti prove the same conclusion, left unattended it will escalate. However, if removed immediately it actually prevents further attacks.
This principle also applies to rental properties. A property that looks dirty and uncared for implies the landlord is apathetic about the condition of their property. A tenant that interprets a dirty property in this way, is likely to become indifferent as well.
If they are in fact house proud they tend to start the tenancy feeling resentful and not ‘on side’.
Property presentation sets the standard and expectations of how the property is to be treated. So if you do it right, not only will you attract the best kind of tenant but you’ll set them up on the right attitude. It is also the best value property makeover your money can buy. For more on property presentation see our blog “7 Easy Ways to Present Your Property to Attract Great Tenants”
Presenting your new tenant with a spotless property starts the tenancy on the right path, now it’s up to the tenant to keep the property clean and tidy. At least twice a year schedule a routine inspection to make sure lack of regular cleaning isn’t accelerating wear and tear on your property.
When was the last time your property was inspected for maintenance issues and cleanliness?
Download our free Cleanliness Checklist Here
About Us
George Astudillo is the founder of Property Quarters, an agency that values communication and great relationships with its landlords.
George now has more than 30 years in real estate, including 15 years as the owner of a national real estate franchise. He’s also an accredited auctioneer and is the author of “The Landlord Mindset”, a book with his best tips to help landlords look after their investments. His book has been quoted in the SMH, The Huffington Post and The Age.
As the founder of Property Quarters, George takes great care in looking after his landlord’s investments. Having seen it all and worked with may landlords and tenants, he’s a strong mediator and negotiator and knows how to navigate through property legislation.
George is trusted by his landlords to advise on the financial management of their investments. He’s put in place proven processes to ensure each property he looks after is managed effectively to retain its value, quality tenants and rental income.
If you’re looking for a property manager who thinks like a landlord and whose business is built on tested processes, contact us by clicking HERE.
Copyright © 2022, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Jan 8, 2018 | Financial, Landlord mindset, Management Systems, Planning
Does investing in property take you outside of your comfort zone?
Most people understand the concept of living within your comfort zone. When the events in your life are within your comfort zone you feel relaxed and calm. When events occur that take you outside of that comfort zone, that’s when you start to feel pressured and anxious.
And whilst a little pressure is ok, even beneficial, too much will create panic.
How you buy and manage your investment property, which tenants you choose and how high your mortgage repayments are, will have a direct effect on your peace of mind. The higher the risk, the higher your tolerance of risk needs to be. Too much risk and you will become anxious and uncomfortable.
By knowing your position on risk, you can use strategies that will help keep you in the comfort zone. It’s also important to know the risk tolerance of others particularly in the following situations.
Partnerships
When buying an investment property with other people, the risk profile of the partners involved may vary greatly potentially increasing the chances of conflict. If one partner can tolerate a higher risk level they will want to pursue a more aggressive investment strategy, which will make the other partner with a lower tolerance apprehensive and anxious. This dynamic is often the cause of friction between couples where one partner’s ideas are considered reckless and the other partner is accused of stalling. This situation can also occur with other family members and well-meaning business partners.
Financial advice
When seeking financial or property advice make sure the person giving the advice is sensitive to your level of tolerance. If your risk tolerance is low, trying to follow the advice from someone that has a high risk tolerance will result in many sleepless nights. When fear and panic creep in, it will be difficult to keep making the appropriate decisions to maintain a high risk strategy. Alternatively receiving tame advice when you are looking for fast growth will leave you underwhelmed and disappointed.
Overwhelm
Some feelings of nervousness are natural when investing your money, but if you feel overwhelmed on a continual basis you may need to look at your strategy and/or seek advice from a property professional that can help minimise the risks. Many times it’s the accumulation of many small risky decisions that add up to one huge headache. Stepping back occasionally can help clarify which areas are making you feel uneasy.
So, how do you feel about your investments? Are you comfortable?
Thinking of investing? See our previous blog “Mortgage Brokers- What Do They Offer the Property Investor”
About Us
George Astudillo is the founder of Property Quarters, an agency that values communication and great relationships with its landlords.
George now has more than 30 years in real estate, including 15 years as the owner of a national real estate franchise. He’s also an accredited auctioneer and is the author of “The Landlord Mindset”, a book with his best tips to help landlords look after their investments. His book has been quoted in the SMH, The Huffington Post and The Age.
As the founder of Property Quarters, George takes great care in looking after his landlord’s investments. Having seen it all and worked with may landlords and tenants, he’s a strong mediator and negotiator and knows how to navigate through property legislation.
George is trusted by his landlords to advise on the financial management of their investments. He’s put in place proven processes to ensure each property he looks after is managed effectively to retain its value, quality tenants and rental income.
If you’re looking for a property manager who thinks like a landlord and whose business is built on tested processes, contact us by clicking HERE.
Copyright © 2022, www.propertyquarters.com.au
Copyright © 2016, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Oct 2, 2017 | Landlord mindset, Management Systems, Planning, Repairs and Maintenance
How involved are you in the management of your investment property?
Managing an investment property requires many tasks to be scheduled and carried out. Collection of rent, routine inspections and attending to repairs are just some. Responsibility for these tasks can vary from landlord to landlord.
There are however four basic types of involvement.
- Complete do-it-yourself
This means you handle all aspects of managing the property, from finding and screening the tenant to handling repairs, maintenance and all of the accounting.
The most useful skills in property management are common sense and a willingness to understand and compromise.
At this level you will need to understand the tenant’s rights, your obligations as a landlord and applicable documentation.
Apart from understanding the applicable legislation, you will need to have a flexible timetable to allow for problems when they arise. Repairs, particularly emergency repairs, need to be acted on quickly. Problems that come up may require many hours negotiating and possibly time at tribunal hearings.
The two main benefits of this style of involvement are having complete control over your investment and saving on agent fees.
For a closer look on managing deadlines see our blog “Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail”
- Do-it-yourself management with some outsourcing to an agent
This level of involvement is the same as the first except you outsource some tasks.
Finding a tenant and attending to the initial documentation are the most common tasks that DIY landlords hire an agent to assist with. The minimum fee for finding a tenant is usually two weeks’ rent and there are many agents that offer this service.
The benefits and problems of this level of involvement are similar to the previous level with some added agent fees for the services you prefer an agent to do.
- Professional property manager under your supervision
This is where you engage a professional property manager to do all the work and they report back to you for all approvals. You make all the decisions and they carry out all the tasks. The agent is then responsible for complying with all relevant legislation, finding a tenant and managing the property. When a problem arises, they contact you for instructions, then take care of it.
The agent, in effect, becomes fully responsible for ensuring all aspects of your investment are looked after, with clear communication before and after completion. They handle all contact with the tenant, giving you a clear buffer and access to professional advice before responding to problems or tenant requests.
The agents fee is an added expense but it is fully tax deductible. However, keep in mind that not all agents are the same and you may still need to manage the agent.
- Professional property manager with clear written parameters
Sometimes, a landlord has no desire or available time for anything other than emergency issues and engages a property manager to undertake all tasks.
The property manager is given authority to undertake these tasks and reports back to the landlord on completion. This allows the property manager to approve repairs up to an agreed value, review rents as appropriate, negotiate with the tenant and attend to all the necessary duties to keep your property running smoothly and profitably.
This type of arrangement needs a clearly documented and comprehensive schedule, monetary limitations and a plan. Both you and the agent need to be clear on who is responsible for what and when.
Most investors start with a level-three involvement and slowly allow things to slide into a level-four arrangement. As time passes, they tend to take less and less of a hands-on interest in their property and rely more and more on the agent. As the transition is not planned, there is no schedule, guidelines or plan for the agent to follow. This can lead to tasks not being completed and ultimately a neglected property and tenant.
So how hands on are you?
For a simple look at budgeting and expenses see our blog here.
About Us
George Astudillo is the founder of Property Quarters, an agency that values communication and great relationships with its landlords.
George now has more than 30 years in real estate, including 15 years as the owner of a national real estate franchise. He’s also an accredited auctioneer and is the author of “The Landlord Mindset”, a book with his best tips to help landlords look after their investments. His book has been quoted in the SMH, The Huffington Post and The Age.
As the founder of Property Quarters, George takes great care in looking after his landlord’s investments. Having seen it all and worked with may landlords and tenants, he’s a strong mediator and negotiator and knows how to navigate through property legislation.
George is trusted by his landlords to advise on the financial management of their investments. He’s put in place proven processes to ensure each property he looks after is managed effectively to retain its value, quality tenants and rental income.
If you’re looking for a property manager who thinks like a landlord and whose business is built on tested processes, contact us by clicking HERE.
Copyright © 2022, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Aug 2, 2017 | Financial, Management Systems, Tenant
According to an ABC news article dated 14 April, 2015, “More than three quarters of a million Australians were the victims of identity theft in the past year, costing the average victim about $4,000…”.
As a landlord you must be sure who is getting the keys to your property. Using the “100 point checklist” together with a tenant reference check, will virtually eliminate the risk of identity fraud. The checklist is designed to accumulate 100 points from various sources. There must be at least one document from the primary documents list and one from the secondary documents list that has a photo.
Primary documents (only one can be used) 40 points
- Australian passport (current, or expired within past two years, but not cancelled)
- International passport (current, or expired within past two years, but not cancelled)
- Other document of identity, e.g. diplomatic/refugee (photo or signature)
Secondary documents – First document 30 points, others 25 points
- Current driver’s licence or permit (government issued)
- Working with children/teachers registration card
- Aviation security identification card
- Maritime security identification card
- Public employee photo ID card (government issued)
- Department of Veterans’ Affairs card
- Centrelink pensioner concession card or health care card (government issued)
- Current tertiary education institution photo ID
- Birth certificate/birth extract
- Australian citizenship certificate
- Reference from a doctor (must have been known for a period of at least twelve months)
10 points
- Foreign/international driver’s licence
- Proof of age card (government issued)
- Medicare card/private health care card
- Council rates notice
- Property lease/rental agreement
- Property insurance papers
- Tax declaration
- Superannuation statement
- Seniors card
- Electoral roll registration
- Motor vehicle registration or insurance documents
- Professional or trade association card
- Utility bills (phone, gas, electricity, water)
- Credit/debit card (if using more than one, each must be from different sources)
- Bank statement/passbook (if using more than one, each must be from different sources)
And don’t forget the tenancy reference check.
About Us
George Astudillo is the founder of Property Quarters, an agency that values communication and great relationships with its landlords.
George now has more than 30 years in real estate, including 15 years as the owner of a national real estate franchise. He’s also an accredited auctioneer and is the author of “The Landlord Mindset”, a book with his best tips to help landlords look after their investments. His book has been quoted in the SMH, The Huffington Post and The Age.
As the founder of Property Quarters, George takes great care in looking after his landlord’s investments. Having seen it all and worked with may landlords and tenants, he’s a strong mediator and negotiator and knows how to navigate through property legislation.
George is trusted by his landlords to advise on the financial management of their investments. He’s put in place proven processes to ensure each property he looks after is managed effectively to retain its value, quality tenants and rental income.
If you’re looking for a property manager who thinks like a landlord and whose business is built on tested processes, contact us by clicking HERE.
Copyright © 2022, www.propertyquarters.com.au
by George Astudillo | Jun 5, 2017 | Financial, Landlord mindset, Management Systems, Planning
Property management is more than collecting rent and organising repairs.
An investment property requires planning and follow through.
There are many events that need to be scheduled over the course of a tenancy. For some events the reminders come in the form of invoices such as Council and Water rates. But even these need to be scheduled to make sure they get paid on time.
Missing deadlines can be costly, for example, forgetting to pay the insurance can put your whole investment at risk. Overlooking rent reviews means you are missing out on potential income whilst missed routine inspections may mean the difference between a simple timely repair and a costly emergency.
It’s easy to create an annual calendar on which you can record the events for the year and check them off as they occur. This way nothing gets missed and once you know everything is covered, you can relax.
The dates you’ll want to monitor include:
o Tenancy expiry date
o Routine inspections
o Rent due dates
o Insurance due date
o Smoke alarm inspections
o Rent review date
o Pest inspection
o Pool and garden maintenance |
o Taxation
o Council rates due dates
o Water rates due dates
o Strata levies due dates
o Dates to invoice tenant for water usage
o Dates to follow up water usage invoice
o Budget review
o Regular maintenance |
Add any event to this list that is specific to your property that is necessary for the protection and maintenance of your property and income.
For the financial component to planning see our blog “Budgeting and Expenses”
Do you know what’s due or coming up this month?
About Us
George Astudillo is the founder of Property Quarters, an agency that values communication and great relationships with its landlords.
George now has more than 30 years in real estate, including 15 years as the owner of a national real estate franchise. He’s also an accredited auctioneer and is the author of “The Landlord Mindset”, a book with his best tips to help landlords look after their investments. His book has been quoted in the SMH, The Huffington Post and The Age.
As the founder of Property Quarters, George takes great care in looking after his landlord’s investments. Having seen it all and worked with may landlords and tenants, he’s a strong mediator and negotiator and knows how to navigate through property legislation.
George is trusted by his landlords to advise on the financial management of their investments. He’s put in place proven processes to ensure each property he looks after is managed effectively to retain its value, quality tenants and rental income.
If you’re looking for a property manager who thinks like a landlord and whose business is built on tested processes, contact us by clicking HERE.
Copyright © 2022, www.propertyquarters.com.au
