Thinking of leasing out your property but don’t know where to start? Wondering what role a property manager has when leasing and managing a property?
Having a chat with your local property manager is the best place to begin. They are experts in finding tenants, leasing a property, managing tenants and keeping them – long term.
Once your property manager is hired, they will take care of the whole process. From professional advice, tenant selection and managing the landlord’s legal obligations.
The First Appointment
Your property manger will give you advice on getting your property lease-ready. This step is overlooked by many, so why is it so important?
A well-presented property will attract a better-quality tenant.
- A tenant who likes a neat and clean home
- Pays rent on time
- Pays a higher rate of rent
The advice given from your property manager will outline any necessary repairs / maintenance the property may need to get it fit and ready to attract the ideal tenant.
A neat and clean property sends a clear message to prospective tenants that this landlord cares about their property and is most likely is a good landlord.
During this meeting the property manager will run though your competition, similar properties that are for lease in the area. He or She will give you an estimated weekly rental rate based on their local experience.
Getting the weekly rental rate right is vital to attracting the right volume of prospective tenant applications and making a clear, sound choice in tenants.
Having a higher rental weekly rate only works for homes that have unique features to other properties on the market.
At this point you will be required to sign a landlord lease authority empowering the property manger to lease and manage your property.
Open For Inspections and Tenant Selection
Your property managers should run at least one open for inspection, weekly at a convenient time for perspective tenants to attend. Some suburbs, particular inner city suburbs have enough traffic to support two or three open for inspections throughout the week.
Question: How many weeks should you run open for inspections? This depends on the quality of applicants. Our agency will normally lease a property within two weeks of first advertising. Although, if this is not the case, we will run inspections till the property is leased.
Tenant selection.
Once a property manger has found a prospective tenant, it’s time to verify the validity of their application. A good property manager will expect the following information from the tenant:
- Multiple pay slips & a letter from their employer on letter head.
- Six months of current bank statements.
- Three forms of identification.
- At least one rental reference with the contact details of the property manager.
- A tenant ledger showing the full history of a tenant’s rental payment.
A property manager will also do a financial credit check and social media checks.
Once a tenant is selected, the property manger will make a written offer to the tenant via a contract agreement. This agreement will cover over all the legal responsibilities of the tenant, landlord and property manager. It will have a lease term and an agreed rental and bond amount.
The prospective tenant must sign and return the agreement, pre-pay at least one month’s rent and one month’s bond to the managing agent. At this point, the property will officially be leased.
Condition Report
This is a document that is prepared by the property manger with current photos of the condition of the property. The more photos the better! Any receipts for carpet cleaning and garden maintenance must be listed here.
This document will support a property manger to make a claim on a tenants bond if needed.
Rent Payment
Your property manager will make sure rent is paid on time, each month. They can also pay bills like rates, utilities and manage minor repairs. All this will be collected into a monthly and annual tax statement and presented to you at tax time. Property Managers Melb offers a cloud-based login where land lords can access all their reporting on demand.
Routine Inspections.
Our agency inspects the property at the initial three-month point of a tenancy. Then every six months there after. We provide digital photos that are cloud based.
These inspections are important when considering extending a lease agreement beyond the original term. It also highlights any needs for property maintenance or feedback to tenants on how they are keeping the property.
Once a tenant gives notice to vacate, our agency will immediately inspect the property to make sure everything is in order. A second inspection will be conducted once the property is vacated prior to releasing the bond.
Question: When Can I Increase My Rent? Our property mangers conduct annual rental reviews on every property we manage. The rent will be based on the market value of rents and condition of the leased property. We will also take into consideration the quality of tenants and the prospect of keeping them long-term.
Sometimes a small rental increase is not necessary when it comes to keeping good tenants. Consider if the tenants move out due to a small rental increase, from the point of advertising a property for lease till new tenants move in. This could be a time frame of up to four weeks. The value in lost rent due to having a vacant property would undo any rental increase.
How much does your agency charge for leasing and managing a property? Check out our property management fees page for a more detailed overview.
Do I have to attend VCAT if I have a property manger? Property Managers Melb is a fully serviced property management company that represents its clients at VCAT.