Being a Landlord Can Be Daunting These Days

Now more than ever, property investors need the services of a professional and experienced Property Manager… Wait, was that a yawn I just heard you exhale as you said to yourself “there’s a surprise, a real estate business owner pushing his property management services” as you read my opening line… ? Well maybe it was, but if you did, and you are an owner of an investment property, then perhaps you should read on a little further, just to see why I have made such as obvious statement.

The answer can be very easily summed up in one word, Methamphetamines, but if that alone is not enough to make you immediately look into the credentials, workload and available time of your current Property Manager, assuming you have a Property Manager and heaven forbid are not trying to manage your property yourself in this ever increasing day and age of litigation, then perhaps the next few additional words might… fines of up to $10,000 for not being up to date with current legislation relating to the safety of your tenant, and or the correct handling of their funds.

The times have very much changed in the Property Management industry. The requirements on the Landlord now are higher than ever. Tenants have more rights than ever before, and in many cases, so they should. The issue for you as a Landlord is to ensure that not only is your tenant being protected, but to also ensure that you are too. Some of the more recent changes and requirements have been;

  • Ensuring your tenant is protected, with the property being electrically safe and free of fault, with proof being provided via an Electrical Safety Certificate (ESC) provided annually by a qualified electrical contractor;
  • Ensuring your tenant is protected, with the property being fire alert ready, with the correct number of fire alarms, that are correctly interlinked, within age and free of fault, with proof also being provided via an Electrical Safety Certificate (ESC) provided annually by a qualified electrical contractor;
  • Ensuring your tenant is protected, with swimming pools, and any bodies of water deeper than 30cm, being correctly fenced, with access restricted and secure, in order to prevent an accidental drowning;
  • Ensuring your tenant is protected, with the property offering adequate security features, such as a lockable screen door, or peep hole, along with an external light, that can operated from within the house itself;
  • Along with the big one, that has quickly infiltrated many lives, and that is ensuring your tenant is protected, via your investment property being free of any ‘meth’ related biohazard material caused by previous lab activity or individual use! I am sure you have read and heard the stories on the news about the issue this causes to property. Well let me tell you, the stories are real, and right on your doorstep, and under your nose. The biohazard material contaminates the paint, the walls, the ceilings, the rangehood, the exhaust fans along with the curtains and flooring etc and once in, the cleanup costs, and or complete demolition cost, to remediate the issue can be sky high! Let alone the health concerns caused to the tenants, along with the emotional pain it can cause you as the owner. Believe me, it is life wrecking…

So going back to my opening line of “now more than ever, property investors need the services of a professional and experienced Property Manager” I would have thought your yawning may well have stopped, and your concern as to whether you, or your current managing agent are on top of all of these issues, may be one you might want to consider a little more seriously?

Very simply put, Western Australian property owners are increasingly putting themselves at financial and emotional risk by not taking these items seriously, and in addition to the legislative issues above, private landlords and Property Managers may still have to deal with other difficult situations such as any malicious damage caused by unruly tenants, late or non payments of rent and accounts, Police attendances, Court appearances and Court or Bailiff related evictions. The list really does go on. For example, did you know it was also up to a $10,000 fine if your tenants Bond is not lodged correctly, or even on time these days?

So how do you ensure you are protected and do not fall foul of one of the critical items listed above? Well you employ the tax deductable services of a Professional and Experienced Property Manager. As I have mentioned in previous articles, Prestige Property Perth has been established in order to manage a smaller, and more select number of properties. This business model has been carefully planned and decided upon following 15 years of seeing the issues that can very much hurt Landlords, and following the many changes that have been introduced to the Property Management sector in that time. We know how hard it is to stay aware of the new legislation and how much harder still it is to remain ahead of the issues once introduced. It takes the efforts of a full time professional, who is not over loaded or over worked to be able to keep you safe. We keep our numbers low, so our commitment to you and your property is high, because at Prestige Property Perth, Our Priority is You…

So if you would like to know more about how we at Prestige Property Perth can help you and your property be better protected, give us a call, and we can take the time required to outline the steps and processes we have in place to ensure we at all times best manage your needs.

In my next article, I will talk about another minefield within our industry, and one that is critical for you to get right when it comes to your protection, and that is the complex offerings of the different insurance companies offering Landlord Insurance. Believe me, they are not all the same, and they do not all cover you when you need it most. Until then…

Yours in Real Estate

Andrew Amos 
Licensed Real Estate Agent
0417 999 837    
andrew@prestigepropertyperth.com.au

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