Are property managers worth the cost?

Investing in property involves a lot of hard work that goes well beyond the buying process. Once you have your property, it has to be managed either by you or a professional property manager. They can take control of the day-to-day things like repairs and collecting rent; and they’ll find a tenant for you.

Hiring a property manager will give you more time for yourself, your job or your family. One of the biggest benefits is the space they put between you and your tenants. This makes things like negotiating rent increases much easier.

Hiring a property manager can be particularly beneficial if you have multiple rental properties.

Save money

Having a property manager should limit the amount of time that your rental property is vacant in between tenants. This is crucial because vacancy periods are very expensive. A property manager will swing into action as soon as they receive notice of your tenant leaving.

Your property manager can also advise you on cosmetic improvements to the interiors and exteriors of your property to maximise your rental returns and reduce your vacancies.

Property managers know the local market and the going weekly rents for properties like yours at any given time. This means you will never undersell or overprice your property when looking for a new tenant. They also have well-refined marketing strategies and will be able to advertise your property on multiple platforms, including homes.com.au.

“Rental properties with professional photos will generally receive more clicks per ad,” said homes.com.au Founder & Managing Director, Pat Carbone.

“Property managers can arrange professional photos for you and you only have to do this once. Each time the property becomes vacant, you can use the same photos again.”

Streamline the process

Hiring a property manager can also lead to lower maintenance and repair costs. During routine inspections, they will assess both the interiors and exteriors of your property to identify small problems before they become bigger and more expensive to fix.

They have a network of trusted local tradespeople on speed dial to attend to repairs quickly. Their contacts include licensed builders, painters, gardeners and handymen who charge reasonable rates and deliver quality work. By using the same people on many properties, your manager might also be able to negotiate a discount for you.

Property managers also streamline the tenant selection process. They have access to national tenancy databases, so they can check a tenant’s history; and they have strict procedures for screening. This should result in only the best tenants living in your property, with rent always paid on time and fewer repairs because they will look after your property.

When dealing with tenants, property managers have an advantage over you because tenants understand that they are simply doing their jobs. They are also more likely to comply with requests for access if they are dealing with an authority figure.

Investing in property is much easier with a great property manager in charge of your asset. You will usually pay a small percentage of your rent for property management services, plus some additional costs for things like new leases and annual financial reports.