Leasing Category

New agencies are popping up everywhere these days and it has never been easier for landlords to jump ship and try a new agency. In Queensland under the new legislation, it is only 30 days before a landlord can change to a new agency if the property is tenanted, but if the property is vacant the change can literally happen overnight. There are many reasons why landlord changes agencies and you can check out some of my previous blogs for more information on this topic like, Why Budget Agency Doesn’t Mean Best or The Three Strikes You’re Out, which addresses the top reasons landlords leave an agency. Researching for a new agency has also changed thanks to the internet and digital marketing. Once upon a time most landlords were either referred by somebody… Read More »

Since the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the Covid-19 moratorium on evictions, property managers and investors have had one single thought on their minds, what is this going to mean for rent arrears? Rent Arrears is probably the single biggest stress and cause for angst for property managers, business owners, and landlords, largely due to the spiraling effect the non-payment of rent means for everyone involved. For Queensland, our worries have been alleviated somewhat, with the Government announcing new temporary legislation concerning the boundaries for the rental properties and the pandemic. The good news is that a tenant now has to prove their financial hardship as a direct result of Covid-19 as the first criteria, the next criteria are that they have to show a 25% reduction in income… Read More »

It is like a roller coaster ride of uncertainty and change, that is literally peaking in ebbs and flows on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. Property Managers are just waiting to see what is over the crest at the top of the ride, is it a sharp downward spiral or an easy slope we can navigate with just a manageable amount of fear. As an industry, we’ve been thrown a few challenges and there’s probably a few more to come, but the only way to deal with a challenge is to look it in the eye and say “accepted”, with all the force and conviction you can muster. The Queensland Government met right before the Easter break to discuss the boundaries concerning the six month No Eviction Moratorium. The positives… Read More »

Advertising your investment property correctly and appropriately is absolutely vital when the property becomes vacant. Nowadays, renters have access to multiple online portals when hunting for the perfect rental property. Therefore, it is important to ensure your property is being seen! Here are some things you can do to ensure your property is reaching those who are on the hunt for a rental property. ONLINE PRESENCE Digital media tends to attract active buyers who are specifically looking in a certain area. With a large number of properties going live every day, you need to make sure your property is not missed. It is more important than ever to ensure your property appears on the first two pages of online portals such as realestate.com.au and domain. Here at iThink Property, we… Read More »

Whether you are wanting to break out of the rent cycle or you are ready to move out of home into your very own place, saving for a house deposit can seem overwhelming and never-ending. But rest assured, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, you just have to stick it out for a while. Here are a few things you can implement to help to save for your first deposit a little bit easier. Whether you are looking to buy in the next 6 months or the next 6 years, we are sure at least one of these tips will be beneficial. GENERAL SAVING TIPS Tackle your Spendings First The very first thing you want to do is go through your monthly budget and look at… Read More »

Why Landlord’s leave a Property Management Company Just like a baseball and softball game, the general rule of thumb with Landlord’s is three strikes and you are out and a new agency comes in. As an investor myself I’ve used this rule of thumb to move onto a new agency, in fact, anything to do with customer service is generally a three mistake rule. Everyone is entitled to make a mistake every now and then, we are all human of course, but as the errors build up what happens is we lose trust and without trust what do we have? Trust is especially essential in property management, mainly considering we are dealing with people’s largest assets; they need to be able to rely on and trust that we have their… Read More »

This is the million dollar question in our industry! There are so many different structures now in modern property management businesses there is no longer a magic number. Once upon a time it was between 100 to 150 for a portfolio based property manager doing everything from start to finish. Now with technology advances, virtual assistants and task based specialty roles in place, there is room to move with the ratio of the number of properties to property managers.   There are so many variables to be taken into consideration when deciding this golden number. For example, how close are the properties to the office, type of properties, calibre of tenants, clients that own the property, experience of property manager and systems in the business to name a few. Profitability also plays a huge factor in determining the staff ratios. Employ too many staff… Read More »

One affliction many agencies and property managers suffer is a blurring of the line between what is legislation and what is company best practice. It is essential to clarify this area if you are preparing for a case at QCAT (Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal), because what you often think is the right thing, can invariably be simply best practice, or alternatively when you realise you haven’t followed best practice, but it might still be within the realms of what the legislation requires. Sounds confusing, doesn’t it! It actually is, the longer you work in property management or the more agencies you work for, the line between what is actually legislation and what is simply the companies policy or procedure becomes more difficult to determine. It’s not like we keep… Read More »

If you had to make a list of the worst jobs you’d like to do, property management would have to be right up there. I mean it is really one of the most thankless jobs, no one ever calls up and says thank you for renting that house to me, thank you for collecting my rent and sorting out my maintenance. No, it is more likely a negative call that forces people to pick up the phone and speak to their property manager. My oven isn’t working, my rent can’t be paid this week, why wasn’t my rent paid this week, why did you fix that leak without my approval, and so the list goes on, day in and day out. Nine out of ten calls are troubleshooting issues, disputes,… Read More »