The Questions You Need To Ask Property Managers Before You Commit to a Property Management Company
When it comes to property management, you should interview potential property managers to understand who you will be working with and understand everything involved. Property management is an immense responsibility with a lot of moving parts to it, and you want to ensure your property will be in the right hands.
Below are the top 4 questions to ask a property manager before handing over the keys. By doing the groundwork first you’re future-proofing your investment and ensuring you will get the most return over its lifetime.
Contents
1. What's Your Rental Vacancy Rate?
‘Vacancy rate’ measures the percentage of properties an agency has available for lease. This is an important time for property investors as you are without income and tenant matching is critical to ensuring a smooth tenancy going forward. While vacancy rate can be heavily influenced by market conditions, it is also an indication of how efficiently and effectively an agency is leasing properties for their owners.
For example, Leah Jay’s vacancy rate is 1.09%, which is lower than the industry average of 1.1%*. This is due to having a dedicated leasing team focused solely on leasing your property, 3D virtual walk-throughs, and implementation of AI technology, which allows tenant inquiries and property inspections to be conducted 24/7.
Follow Up Questions to Ask Your Property Manager
- What Do You Look for in Prospective Tenants?
- What is Your Process for Tenant Screening?
Get A Rental Property Appraisal
Maximise the potential of your property investment
2. What are Your Average Days on the Market?
Average days on market refers to the amount of time your rental property is advertised for lease or, in other words, how long it takes to lease the property as an average.
Quality and effective marketing strategies reduce the number of days on market and ensure your property is leased at a time when your advertisement is reaching your ideal target market. Poor quality advertising will increase your days on market and see your property advertisement slip down the website search rankings. It will also impact your days of lost rent, which is the true vacancy period that you will be without rent in between tenancies. These are important numbers that any prospective property manager should know and should be able to clearly communicate to you.
For example, Leah Jay’s average days on market was 18 during 2022. This means we proactively worked with owners to:
- ensure their advertised rent was competitive for the market;
- the advertisement showcased the property’s unique features through the description and professional photography; and
- the property catered for the key demographics the owner was hoping to attract (i.e. if the owner was looking for a family, we would suggest fencing the yard before advertising)
Follow Up Questions to Ask Your Property Manager
- Where Do You Advertise Properties For Lease?
- What are Your Strategies for Reducing Days on the Market?
3. How Do You Optimise My Return?
Optimising your return is about maximising the return you receive whilst minimising your risk, in line with your investment goals.
When you ask a property manager how they do this, they need to be speaking about more than just rent reviews.
At Leah Jay, our Property Investment Services team use an experienced, pro-active, and holistic approach to ensure they are adding value over the life of your investment. This often starts with an investment property health check, that provides strategic advice on maximising rental yields and capital growth through improvements, renovations, and/or developments.
Our Property Investment Services team also support owners who are weighing up what to do with their properties and portfolios – is it time to divest, refinance or purchase more properties? They work with experienced mortgage brokers, insurance brokers, and depreciation specialists to make sure all aspects of your investment are being tended to.
Our Investment Services team completed 356 investment health checks last year and supported our property managers in completing 2116 rental increases, ensuring owners achieved the highest return from their property.
Follow Up Questions to Ask Your Property Manager
- What is Involved in a Property Health Check?
- What Unique Features Can Optimise Returns on Investment Properties?
- What are the Average Annual Costs of an Investment Property?
4. What's the Experience of Your Team?
Having a dedicated Property Manager is important, however having a team of experts working around your property manager who can offer guidance, advice, and experience guarantees a complete approach when it comes to your investment.
We have a dedicated Compliance Manager, Michelle McLean, who has over 24 years of experience in the industry and oversees all escalated NCAT issues. Michelle’s dedication to property management has seen her selected as Chair of the Property Management Chapter for the Real Estate Institute of NSW, so she is at the forefront of legislative changes within our industry.
As mentioned above, we have a dedicated Property Investment Services team who work alongside our Business Development Managers to provide independent advice throughout the investment process, from beginning to end. Couple this with an independent Leasing & Inspections Unit and you can begin to see the support system we have built around our Property Managers, allowing them more time to build exceptional and genuine relationships with their clients.
Follow Up Questions to Ask Your Property Manager
- Do You Have a Dedicated Property Management Department?
- Will My Contact Be a Senior Property Manager?
So, What is Expected of a Good Property Manager?
All the above, and more. A professional property manager needs to deliver the fundamentals plus significant value, support, and expertise across all aspects of your investment. Only then can they optimize your portfolio to ensure you are getting the most out of it.
At Leah Jay, we have been focused solely on property management for over 29 years. We have built a team of property managers who have exceptional industry experience, who have helped 100s of property investors to take their properties and portfolios to the next level.
We offer complete property management services, from pre-purchase investment advice through to leasing and ongoing management, project management, investment returns, and divesting. And we have become the most awarded in NSW in the process.
Our top 4 questions to ask a property manager are designed to get you the right information to ensure your investment goals are being recognised and understood.
Key Takeaways
- Ask about the property management company's rental vacancy rate to understand their efficiency in leasing properties.
- Inquire about the average days on the market to gauge how quickly they can find tenants.
- Understand how the property manager plans to optimize your return, beyond just rent reviews.
- Assess the experience and support system around your property manager, including their team's expertise and approach to compliance and investment advice.
Looking for the Right Property Manager to Take Care of Your Investment Property?
If you are currently looking for a property manager, let Leah Jay find you the best tenant for your investment property. We have been performing week after week for property investors, for over 29 years – to see the bigger picture, just ask us how we do it and contact us today.
*Source: REINSW
