Meg Barrett,
Commercial Property Manager at Image Property.
The 3 signs of a professional property manager
With rental markets across Southeast Queensland recording record low vacancy rates, it has never been more critical to have the best property manager for your investment property.
While there are always a plethora of duties for property managers to perform, when there is an imbalance of any kind in the rental market, they must also be the most professional operators.
This means that whether there is more supply than demand or vice versa, property managers must have the ability to communicate clearly and effectively with both landlords and clients to manage the current market conditions.
This is true whether it’s property management in Nambour on the Sunshine Coast or property management in Nundah in Brisbane.
That’s because the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords are the same regardless of where the rental property is located.
When investors don’t have the very best property managers working for them, this may create problems that can result in reduced cash flow or even repairs going unnoticed and turning into expensive significant issues.
So, if you’re searching for a property manager for your investment property, what are some signs that the person is a professional operator?
Communication
A professional property manager will have superior communication skills. This includes regular communication as well as using a communication method that is best suited to you.
If you never hear from your property manager or struggle to contact them when you need them, that is a tell-tale sign that they don’t have appropriate communication skills.
On the other hand, a professional property manager will be available when you need them, within reason, and will also communicate with you regularly, so you’re never left in the dark regarding the well-being of your investment property.
Technology
Unfortunately, the real estate sector has been slow to adapt to the significant technological changes underway in the industry for the past few decades.
In fact, some old-school real estate agencies are even still paper-based!
The best property managers work for agencies with the most advanced technology underpinning everything they do for their tenants and landlord clients.
This can mean that as a landlord, you will have easy access to all of the information pertinent to your property, which is especially important at tax time.
Suppose your property manager appears to be using outdated technology or, worse still, requires you to sign physical bits of paper. In that case, you can probably do better taking your property business somewhere else!
Professionalism
Property managers at the top of their field are the ones who treat the industry as their profession.
They are not working as property managers as a stop-gap measure – instead, they are committed to the industry as their career and have the experience to show it.
Across the southeast, from the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast, many professional property managers diligently work daily managing the competing demands of tenants and landlords, ensuring that the rental properties on their books remain looked after physically.
As well as selecting the ideal property as an investment, it always pays for investors to seek professional property managers with the skills and experience to manage their real estate investment assets.