A usual day in Property Management

9:00am - Get into work and start computer up. Check to see what has appeared in your in tray since you were last here. Sort out the crap and put the important stuff somewhere where you can deal with it later. Do all this while taking phone calls that come in and seeing people who have come to the office to see you.

9:10am - Delete all the spam from your inbox, and start making your way through the real emails. Responding where required and making notes of things you need to get to later. Do all this while taking phone calls that come in and seeing people who have come to the office to see you.

9:30am - Return phone calls that you missed while you were out of the office. Make notes of any jobs that this creates. Do all this while taking phone calls that come in and seeing people who have come to the office to see you.

10:00am - check to see who's behind on their rent and text, email, send letters our call them to find out when it should be coming in. If there's any one who is substantially behind, call the landlord to update them on what's happening. Do all this while taking phone calls that come in and seeing people who have come to the office to see you.

10:30am - Go through applications that have come in and either call, email our fax for reference requests. Give all applications that are either incomplete or have been filled out incorrectly back to the receptionist so she can call the applicants back and tell them that we do need answers for all of the questions on the forms, not just some of them. If there are any suitable applicants try and contact the landlord to get them approved. Send text messages or call any of the dodgy applications to let them know they've been declined. Put aside any applications that are waiting on return phone calls. Do all this while taking phone calls that come in and seeing people who have come to the office to see you.

11:30am - Call landlords about repairs that need to be done on their properties, argue with them that while TV is not considered an essential service, the tenant rented a property with television reception, and therefore they need to get the antenna fixed so it works again. Also explain to them that you use your tradespeople because you've found that they are reliable and reasonably priced, and no you don't feel comfortable getting their nephew to do it for half the price. Agree with them that owning a rental property is supposed to be an investment, but point out that most investments also cost money, and they should have expected repairs when they bought it. Tell them you really don't have time to go over to the property to check to make sure the leaking tap they've reported hasn't been intentionally damaged, but your plumber would let you know that anyway. Enforce that just because their neighbour once stopped their hose from leaking, doesn't make him a licensed plumber, and he's really no better then the nephew. Agree to call them back to let them know how much the repair cost and what the problem was.

Action all repairs that you can by calling emailing or faxing the trades people. Do all this while taking phone calls that come in and seeing people who have come to the office to see you.

12:00pm - Check through all final inspections that were carried out the previous day and call the tenant to inform them what needs to be done, such as cleaning, carpet cleaning, lawns and gardens, damage, outstanding water accounts, missing keys and outstanding rent. Explain that you're sorry they believe the place looks better now then when they moved in, but according to the condition report that they had for 7 days back when they first moved in, there were no stains on the carpets, the walls weren't all grubby, the kitchen was clean, the lawns and gardens were done, and there were no holes in the walls. Email them copies of photos you took from the beginning of the tenancy proving this to be the case. Agree to meet them at the property to show them what cleaning was missed. Schedule it for later in the week. Calk the landlord to keep them updated. Do all this while taking phone calls that come in and seeing people who have come to the office to see you.

12:30pm - Print off your calender, and collect the required keys for all afternoon appointments. Do all this while taking phone calls that come in and seeing people who have come to the office to see you.

12:45pm - Leave the office for your afternoon appointments, first one is at 1:00pm.

1:00pm - Your appointments usually start around this time, and you try and spend only 10-15 minutes at each property, using the last 15-20 minutes of the half hour to get to the next property, which is usually over the other side of town. Answer all the same questions at each property; Q - "What do I do now?" A - "If you're interested in applying for the property pop into the office to pick up an application form, answer all questions and include copies of ID and proof of income, then we'll process it for you." Q - "does the property allow pets?" A - "if you have a good application, the landlord will be less likely to say no to a dog or cat." Q - "how long does the application process take?" A - "that depends, if your references are easy to get in touch with then it can take maybe 3 business days, but if we have trouble getting in touch with any one, it takes a lot longer." Q - "Is the owner planning on putting the property up for sale?" A - "They haven't said anything to me about it, but peoples conditions can change at any time, so I'm not sure what could happen down the track." Q - "What happens if I move in and the house sells?" A - "You would still have the property for the length of your lease, regardless of whether the property sells, after your lease is up they would either give you 30 days notice to vacate, or if the new owners are investors then you wood stay on at the property." Etc.

Do all this while taking and returning phone calls that you've missed.

5:30pm - Go home. Remember to leave your work behind you at this time so you can get some rest and prepare to do it all again tomorrow.

**note** On top of your daily calendar, you also need to include a 2 hour meeting once a week, 3 hours of routine inspections twice a week, and any ingoing or outgoing inspections that are required, which take approximately 1 hour each.

Kyle Sandilands and his rented mansion

Do I have to say out loud what I really think of Kyle Sandilands?




He’s in the public eye, and seems to be constantly doing stupid things. Maybe it’s time he stepped back from the lime light, so if he wants to continue acting the way he does no one needs to know about it.

I won’t go in to all of the acts he’s done that leave me shaking my head, but naturally being the topic of this blog, I will talk about his latest performance.

Kyle has just vacated this $20,000 odd a month property, citing that there were ongoing repairs that weren’t being attended to. The main repair in question being that the septic tank is blocked.

Maintenance is definitely something that all landlords need to take care of as quickly as possible, and if what Mr. Sandilands is saying is correct, then he absolutely has every right to complain. However he has gone down the wrong – and immature – pathway of stopping the rent.

You must always pay your rent for your property. Always. Regardless of what else may be going on, the rent should be constant. It is not up to you to decide whether you deserve a rent reduction, it is up to a Tribunal Member, or even before that you might be able to negotiate a deduction with your landlord, but it’s not something you can just decide.

What Mr. Sandilands is claiming though, is that the property is no longer livable, so he handed the keys back in. Now there is such a thing as a frustrated lease, which literally means if the house is not livable, then there really can’t be a lease on it. So he may have something here, but all the time that you’re living in a property you need to be paying rent for it. According to the landlord Mr. Sandilands owes over $70,000, that’s a lot of unpaid rent, but could also include cleaning or damages that needed to be fixed up after he vacated.

Mr. Symington, the landlord agreed that there had been maintenance issues at the property – what property doesn’t? He also went as far as saying "There were problems with the septic system and its pump - but they were also contributed to because items such as tampons and baby wipes had been put down the toilet which they shouldn't have been.'' I sure hope he can prove that, as that will not only mean that Mr. Sandilands is responsible for the remainder of his lease, but also for the repair to the septic system.

I don’t have all the facts, however I hope that when this matter goes to tribunal next week that he is required to pay his back rent. He should be let out of his lease if the problems he’s reported exist, however he needs to learn that all the while he was in possession of the property, he owes money for it.

How To Be A Good Landlord

1.Don’t be unreasonable – yes it is technically your house, but that doesn’t mean you can turn up at all times of the day or night, that you can store your belongings there or treat the tenant’s like they belong to you. Make sure you always give required notice before turning up to the property, and even then think to yourself – “Would I be ok with a stranger coming to my house on that day?” I had a landlord once – after giving the required notice – spend pretty much the whole Easter long weekend doing work in the garden of her rental property. Legally she was doing nothing wrong, but I felt so bad for the tenant’s who couldn’t enjoy the holiday fully, knowing that the owner was there from dawn to dusk.

2.Unless it’s your trade, don’t carry out your own repairs – If you’re an electrician, great! Do the electrical work. If you’re a painter, awesome! Do the painting. If you’re an accountant, don’t expect to be able to do the plumbing work just because you’ve replaced washers at home! Everyone wants to save a few dollars, that’s understandable, but doing work that you’re not qualified or licensed to do can end up costing thousands in repairs. It’s not worth it in the long run, and can be messy legally.

3.Don’t discriminate. This is illegal! - I can’t believe the amount of times when I’m going through a great application form with a landlord only to have them ask “are they, you know...?” Yes I know exactly what you mean and it’s disgusting! I get endless joy playing dumb, and answering the above question with “Working? Yes they have a full time job, which they’ve been at for 3 years,” or “Young? Not really, they’re in their mid thirties,” Skin colour, race or religion does not make a difference if they’ve got a good application.

4.Don’t quibble about the small stuff. - There’s a power point not working, let me get an electrician to look at it and it will cost maybe $60-$70. Do I really need to call you and tell you how it’s not working? Why it’s not working? How long it hasn’t worked for? Who’s responsible? You’re paying me to look after your property, let me look after your property!

5.Understand fair wear and tear. Look into depreciation. It’s only a certain amount of years before the brand new carpet you had laid will be fully depreciated and legally worth nothing. The same goes when it comes to paint, window coverings, floor coverings, everything! So if you put new tiles in the kitchen and then proceed to have a couple of tenants come and go, you need to expect that the tiles are not going to be brand new forever. People drop things, it doesn’t mean that if there’s a crack in the tiles that they need to get the whole thing done again.

6.Don’t delay the inevitable. If there’s a problem with something at the house that needs repair – like a leaking roof – just get it fixed, regardless of whether this is because of broken tiles or something else, don’t ask for a full report as to what is causing the problem if the end result is still going to be the same.

7.Return calls. To you a dripping tap might only be a small issue, and you’ll call back when you get the chance to authorise the repair. The sooner you get this underway the better, tenants can seek compensation for the lost water, or for other matters for hardship endured. Someone is waiting to hear from you, don’t keep them waiting.

8.Read reports that are sent to you. If you own a house, chances are that means you’re an adult, you should not have to be spoon fed the whole process. If you have an agent managing the property on your behalf, and they’ve gone to the trouble of doing a routine inspection, and they’ve sent you a report, read it. There could be important information in it that you need to know. The agent has done their part and sent you the report, it’s now up to you to read it, and decide what you want done.

9.Don’t be greedy – Yes your house may be worth another $10 per week, but if you’ve got great tenants living there, do you really need to serve them a rent increase notice? Wouldn’t you prefer to know that they’re going to stay there for longer, and continue looking after your property? Or what if they were to move out over this $10? Even if the house is empty for just 1 week, that $10 is going to take a long time to make back.

10.Don’t promise the World, and only provide a village. - If you tell your tenant you’re going to do something for them, follow through with it, otherwise they’ll be expecting it until you come through with it. Don’t promise new carpet, and then hold off on it until they move out. Don’t promise a new fence, and then only do repairs to the existing one. Don’t promise a new oven, and only supply a second hand one. While none of these offers are considered unreasonable you’ve set your tenants up for disappointment. You’re better off offering less, and then if more is an option look into it then, as a surprise bonus!

Tenants & Compensation Part 3

The saga unfortunately continues with this tenant.

Just as a recap, for those who are new to my blog. He put in a request that an old electric heater at the property be repaired, however the heater hasn't worked for many many years, and he's only lived at the property for just over 12 months now, and it's made clear in his lease that the heater doesn't work.

After many discussions between ourselves and the tenant's advocacy, it was explained to him that the heater would not be getting repaired, as it was unrepairable.

Unfortunately he doesn't seem to understand that this property does not have a heater, and the rent that he is paying does not include the use of a heater. So he's stopped paying his rent.

We haven't received any rent from him since June, so naturally our next step was to send him a termination notice for breach of his lease. The date on the termination notice came and went without any rent coming into our office, and without him vacating the property. So the next step was to apply to Tribunal for vacant possession of the property.

The Tribunal date came and went, without any rent coming into the office, and without him vacating the property. We were awarded vacant possession of the property, stating that he must return the keys on or before the 23rd of August.

On approximately the 20th of August we receive an application for rehearing of the Tribunal matter. Words can not convey emotions that start running when a landlord is told that the vacant possession that was ordered is put on hold indefinately and still no rent is coming in. It's a shame that the fact that the landlord has 2 mortgages to pay does not come into play in these instances.

So we submitted our reasons for believing that there shouldn't be a rehearing;

In response to the application for a rehearing of the above matter please find attached our reasons for believing that the existing Tribunal orders should be acted on, and that a rehearing is not necessary.

The tenant Mr. Tenant's rent is currently only paid to the 13th of May 2010, and no payments have been made since June. We have spoken to him about this issue several times and on the last occasion he informed us that he was not going to pay any rent.

As far as we are aware, the reason behind Mr. Tenant not paying his rent is due to the fact that there is an electric heater in the property that is not repairable. However this heater has not been repairable for several years, even before the commencement of the current lease, and this is noted in the condition report, dated September 14th 2006. Mr. Other Tenant, who is the original tenant on the lease, has also confirmed that he has always been aware that the heater is not repairable, and has never been included in the lease.

We have included a Statutory Declaration from Mr. Other Tenant to this effect, as well as a copy of the original condition report. Also included is a copy of the ledger for the premises showing that rent has not been paid for a long time.

We understand that Mr. Tenant is of ill health, and for that reason needs a heater, therefore we believe it is best if Mr. Tenant vacates the property, to find alternate accommodation which has heating.
If you have any questions regarding our submission please feel free to contact our office.

Now we wait. The landlord is still without rent, the tenant is still without a heater and the issue will not be resolved for some time now.

Tenants and Compensation Part 2

Just an update on the tenant's advocacy problem I'm having.

In the most recent reply I received from Tenant's Advocacy they seemed to have dropped the issues regarding to the oven and the dripping tap - Progress! However they have pushed the fact that due to several rent arrears letters that I have sent to the approved occupant, specifically addressed to him that he is in fact the lease holder at the property, and that due to other instances they can safely say that he has a new oral lease at the property, and is entitled to everything that the original lease holder is.

My concern with whose name the lease was in was mainly to point out that the condition report is 4 years old. Myself, and the landlord are quite happy for him to stay on in the property, and I am even willing to sign up a new lease in his name. This would ensure that he would need to take the time to sit down with me, and go through all of the clauses in the lease. I believe he is entitled to everything the original lease holder is, which includes taking on the original condition report.

They are also still seeking compensation for the time he has been at the property without a working heater. As mentioned previously I stated to Tenant's Advocacy that the condition report states the the heater is not working (In hindsight it should probably say that the heater is unrepairable, but this report was done up before I managed the property.) and that the condition report is part of the lease. So the signed lease indicates that the tenant is aware that the heater is not working.

Tenant's advocacy has told me that this is contracting outside of the law, as all fixtures need to be repaired. They are also seeking a "rent abatement for the withdrawal of services and compensation for economic loss for increased electricity costs and compensation for non-economic loss for frustration, distress, inconvenience and anxiety over the failure of his landlord to undertake the repairs." However we have reminded them that the heater is unrepairable, and as the property was not advertised with a heater and was agreed in the lease that there is no heater then there is no compensation owing.

The unfortunate problem with this situation, is that the tenant is sick, and could really do with a heater coming into these cold nights. His time would be better spent looking for a property that comes with a heater, and not in seeking compensation that he's not entitled to.

The saga continues.