6 Reasons Why It's Important to Use a Local Property Manager.

There are many arguments as to why it’s important to have a property manager within close proximity of your rental. Below are the top six reason why a local is best for landlords:

Keeping a close eye.

Local people understand local events that could affect real estate in the local area. For instance, a flash flood in a particular street that’s only circulated in local news, a major road work or road closure, power outages that can extend into days.

In this case the turnaround time to assist a tenant or prevent further damages can be shortened.

Local estate agents can drive past their portfolio of property’smultiple time per week. A sharp property manager can notice things like many cars at a property or an overgrown garden and act on the issue immediately.

Local trades.

Skilled trades men usually only want to work locally, and a main source of regular work is a local real estate agency. These trades men usually source there work from word of mouth or door knocking the local real estate agent.

Tradies appreciate the free source of work and look after the jobs agents give them, repairs are usually completed promptly hence a tangible benefit is noted with all people involved.  

Out of area agents would never have access to this kind of worker. Hence things like call out fees and larger quotes become more common for out of area agents.

Understand the different demographics and real estate types.

A suburb can have several different types of real estate, for instance: new estates, establish housing, government housing, premium pockets, and very cheap pockets of property.

Understanding this can help a leasing manager quote a correct level of rent for an advertised property minimising a vacancy period.

Different types of real estate also attract different social demographics that a particular type of property can be suitable for.

This type of knowledge is only learnt from a being local to a suburb for a long period of time. Out of area property manager cannot understand the different pockets within a suburb from looking at a map.

Hence matching up wrong type of tenant to a property or not pricing a property correctly when advertising for lease comes back costing the landlord. 

Quickly present during urgent repairs.

Sometimes damages can multiply after the initial problem is discovered. For instance, a visible blocked gutter can cause a flood in one room of a house that turns in to mould damage within days of a major rain event.The property can be deemed unhabitable for a tenant andwork out to a large clean-up bill, loss of rent for the landlord and compensation for the tenant. 

The law of the land suggests urgent repairs need to be rectified within a 48-hour period, so time is of the essence when it comes to major repairs. Hence a local property manager that can be on site of a reported issue can stop a chain of events from getting worse.

Good old fashion service.

Most company’s these days are amalgamating into large corporate entities where customers are just numbers in a call centre que. Interactions with skilled professionals that are masters of their trade are becoming a thing of the past.

Local property management firms work on a good old fashion service model where you can speak to your property manager face to face. The same person has been through your property, selected your tenants and understands the history of your property when it comes to its maintenance record.

A point of reference for your tenant.

Tenants have a place to pick up and drop off keys, condition reports, have meetings with a property manager face to face and discuss things like rental increases, maintenance etc.

A property manager that is reachable and present in a tenant’s life creates a level of professional accountability from the tenant knowing a property manager is only around the corner.

This article was written by Mark Ribarsky, a senior property advisor at Property Managers Footscray.