Property management fees can vary significantly. This makes it hard to know if you are receiving value for money or paying too much. Let’s look behind the scenes at what really happens at the lower end of the management fee scale and compare this to what you should expect.

What do lower fees really mean?

Lower property management fees mean the traditional practice of visiting properties, and knowing them well, are sacrificed. Instead, property managers are desk-bound administrators. This may not seem like a problem at first. But you should be concerned for several reasons:

1. If the property manager doesn’t know your property well, they’re unable to identify any negligence caused by the tenant. When the current tenant moves out, you could be left with a hefty repair and maintenance bill before you can next lease your rental property. A long vacancy combined with repair costs can cause a big dent in your budget.
2. Lower management fees require the managing agent to look after more properties to cover costs and make a living. With volume comes the challenge of remembering the details of each property, each landlord and each tenant. It also means it’s difficult to promptly attend to any issues with the property or the tenant. That’s why Stills Properties is a boutique property management agency. It gives us time to provide highly personalised and individual service because we know you and your property very well. It also gives us time to build good relationships with tenants. This leads to harmonious tenancies.
3. With lower management fees comes outsourced routine property inspections. These are usually performed by different inspectors each time. This can be a problem because it means the inspector won’t know your property or the condition it was in when the lease commenced. Therefore, he or she is unable to identify any negligence caused by your tenant.

Management fee savings could be an illusion

While lower management fees can appear to save you money, it’s a risky strategy in the longer term due to:

• A lack of knowledge of your property and its condition at the time the lease commenced
• No-one to coach your tenant on how to care for your investment property
• Property managers too overwhelmed by the size of their portfolio to attend to issues promptly
• Outsourced property management services so no-one is accountable for protecting your investment

Easy tenancies take time and effort

Easy, stress-free tenancies happen when the property manager takes the time to build rapport with the tenant and know your property.

Having rapport with the tenant means the tenant trusts the managing agent. Then, if the tenant has an issue or accidently causes damage, they’ll advise the property manager so the problem can be promptly resolved. Likewise, if the tenant isn’t maintaining the property appropriately, the managing agent can coach them on what’s expected.

Stills Properties are a boutique property management agency who works closely with both landlords and tenants. It’s a formula for success that’s proven to maximise returns for landlords and create harmonious relationships with tenants. If you’re looking for an experienced, knowledgeable and dedicated property manager, contact Brigitte at Stills Properties. For more information or to discuss your property management requirements, call Brigitte Stills on 1300 091 638 or email propertymanager@stillsproperties.com.au