Is Your Investment Property In Safe Hands 100% of The Time?

We all know life is getting busier, and for some reason it seems to take a lot more time and effort to get what we used to always have? Collectively and individually, our expectations are higher, our security risks are greater, and our needs are larger, which seems to be making our days shorter, even though mathematically we receive the same amount of time as we always once did.

I don’t know about you, but in my case, I seem to have to jump through more legislative hoops, spend more time responding to emails, whist receiving more and more uninvited spam, amongst having to remember what seems like a trillion passwords, in order to do all the other things I do daily in running a successful business. All this whilst also still having to find time to maintain a household, be a good sales person, a good property manager, a good father, a good people manager, a good friend and a good husband, just to name a few things that need to be juggled on a daily basis. I am sure there are even more daily items that I have forgotten, but I guess you get my point. We are all busy these day, and I have to tell you, sometimes it is a little tempting to take a few short cuts here and there, to help you through. Sound familiar?

I guess everyone takes a few short cuts somewhere, but let me ask you this, what short cuts are the people who are looking after one of your largest, if not your largest asset, taking? Surely they must be taking some? They cannot possibly be on top of every aspect of yours, your tenants and your properties needs, along with every other property they are asked to manage, if they are juggling a workload that matches their busy lifestyle? If their lack of quality time is causing even one thing to be left unattended, it is only a matter of time until that forgotten item becomes an issue. The question is how much will that issue cost you? Trying to do just enough to ‘paper over the cracks’ in Property Management is a guaranteed recipe for disaster.

These days, Property Managers are asked to manage far too many properties, because the more they can manage, the more money the company makes. It’s simple arithmetic. Finding more properties to manage is always possible, however finding the time within the day to do so properly, is not. A scenario of having too many properties and not enough time, is like having a blanket that is slightly too small for the bed… it will cover most of you most of the time, but no matter which way you try and pull it, something is always ultimately exposed.

Managing too many properties is not a good thing, however I see many of the larger real estate companies trying to sell this fact as being a benefit to you. They will boast about how many properties they manage, and how they must be the ‘best’ because they manage so many. They are simply trying to win you over by playing on the fact most people like to be like other people, when they are making larger decisions in life, as copying the masses always seems safer somehow. So they will state something like “How can 3,000 landlords all be wrong?” Well, they aren’t all necessarily ‘wrong’, but are they all being serviced correctly, and fully protected in this day of increased legislation and liability?

So how many properties is the right amount to manage? Well as a real estate business owner of over 15 years, with a rent roll in a previous life once topping 500 properties, I learnt very quickly that ‘stretching the blanket’ was not a successful way to manage clients properties. Most real estate companies these days are asking their Property Managers to handle over 120 properties each. I can tell you this is ridiculous, and all but impossible in amongst our heavy time restrictions these days. Some offices are a little more realistic, but their expectations are still for the Property Managers to be handing around the 100 mark. Although this scenario is much more realistic, and potentially doable, I also have to tell you that for this to be effective, EVERYTHING must be going perfectly at all times, and besides the obvious risks of exposure to liability, loss and damage, you as a client will still only ever feel like a number to them. In addition, your Property Manager will most likely burn out and resign very quickly. If you have ever noticed that you have a higher turnover of people managing your investment? This is most likely why.

At Prestige Property Perth, we have a different business model. Since commencing the business, we have made the conscious decision to cap our rent roll numbers to a very manageable 75 properties. We have discovered over the years, that this is a number where we are able to know what is going on at all times with each of the properties that we manage. We are also able to provide effective communication and have personable conversations with our owners and tenants, so that we can work through any issues correctly, whilst being able to understand what everyone is requiring from us. We are also able to meet all the current legislative criteria, that is required by us and the owners, in order to meet a rental properties legal requirements these days. Ultimately, we are also able to treat you like a valued client, and not just another number within our daily work load.

So, is your investment being looked after effectively and in safe hands 100% of the time? I guess this is something you need to ask yourself, and if you come up with any doubts, give me a call to see if the Prestige Property business model is a better fit for you, as it will give you one less thing to have to juggle amongst your busy lifestyle.

Yours in Real Estate,

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

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