Choosing an agent

I get alot of prospective landlords who choose their agent based on how much they say the property is worth. This is such a bad idea, lets go through some better ways.

• You should like your agent. They're going to be calling you with problems, you're better off liking them to begin with, because if someone you don't like very much is calling you with issues, it's going to make those issues that much harder to handle...
• Read through the managing agency agreement. Make sure you agree with everything you're signing for now, because you can't change it down the track.
• Are you happy with the commission rate? This is one area where it doesn't hurt to compare, the difference between 7% and 8% may only be a couple of dollars every week, but it does add up.
• Are there any other fees? Just because you're only paying 5% commission doesn't mean you're getting a great deal. Are they also charging for advertising? Repairs? Tribunal hearings? Find out exactly what you'll be paying for in advance.
• Having said those last two points, I need to also point out that you get what you pay for. The is quite possibly a reason why one agent charges you 8.5%, while the one down the road is willing to go down to 6.5% - are they going to be offering you the same standard of service as the more expensive agent?
• How many inspections will your agent do a year? In NSW by law they can only do a maximum of 4 a year, but most agents will only do 2 - personally I only do 2, unless I'm worried about how the property is being kept. I don't want to alienate good tenants by constantly looking over their shoulders. With good long term tenants I'm happy to only do 1 inspection a year.
• How does the office work? Well you just be dealing with one property manager? Two or three? or will you be dealing with a whole team - with a different person calling you for each matter. How many property managers do you want to be dealing with? How do they deal with tenant rental arrears?
• How long has the property manager you're going to be dealing with been with the company? If the office has a high turn over of staff you'll be likely to see several property managers come and go. This isn't good for your property, as a property manager that lasts longer knows more about the property, what repairs its been through, how long ago the hot water system was installed etc. In fact, while you're house hunting for the perfect investment property, it wouldn't hurt to also check the jobs section of the paper - is there one agent who seems to always be asking for property managers? Chances are they have a high turn over of staff.
• What sort of training do the staff do? Are they up to date on all current legislation? Are they kept motivated?
• What application process do they go through? Are they a member of any defaulting tenant databases such as TICA, Landlord's Advisory Service or National Tenancy Database? Chances are you won't find an agent that is a member of all three, but they should definitely be a member of at least one of these services.
• How does the office handle the bad stuff? No point burying your head in the sand - bad tenants exist, and regardless of how strenuous the tenancy applications are processed some bad tenants do slip through the cracks. What happens then? Do they have experience with the Consumer, Tenancy and Trade Tribunal? How do they handle complaints?
• Do they bad mouth other agents to you or other clients? This is really unprofessional. There is no excuse for this, and basically it's just childish. Yes I'll admit it, amongst our office we often have a good b*tch about what other agents around town have gotten up to, but we would never even consider sharing this information with current or prospective landlord and tenants. It's just not on.
• Talk to other people you know with investment properties, chances are they'll tell you all about their current agent, and why you should or shouldn't go with them. Also, many cities now have Facebook pages which are dedicated to good or bad reviews of different companies around town, if you have access to those pages feel free to ask the general public for their thoughts on the matter. However when doing this keep in mind that you should take every review with a grain of salt.

Do you have any suggestions about finding a good agent? How about things that you wish you had thought of before signing up? Share them here!