In the morning of last Sunday, a public event organised in the Greater Brisbane area aiming to network property investors was taken by surprise as a flash mob of singing and dancing real estate agents stole everyone’s attention.
The performing group, led by Real Estate market superstar Daphne Delgado, made use of the investors hub to draw attention to the importance of the Property Management industry in a climate where many landlords choose to self-manage.
Making use of contagious choreography and the lively song “I’ll Be There for You”, by the iconic band The Rembrandts, Delgado’s flash mob was designed to be educative and raise awareness to a topic a few investors still question: after all, what does a Property Manager even do?
A scope
According to pamphlets passed around by Delgado’s ensemble, the job of a Property Manager encompasses everything related to the care of a property from early stages, even before tenancies, to extreme cases such as bond disputes and supervising potential damages done or caused to the investments.
The illustrated infographics pointed out that Property Managers would be responsible for (but not limited to) –
- Market appraisals to assess the right value of the property in its current market.
- Listing the property for rent on appropriate channels, preparing it and conducting open homes for potential tenants.
- Receiving applications, conducting necessary background checks, approving tenants and ultimately leasing the property.
- Conducting entry and exit reports, plus quarterly routine inspection to guarantee the property is being well maintained.
- Opening up, turning on the computers and getting the milk.
- Receiving, assessing and actioning maintenance needs and requests, and dealing with any emergency needs.
Why is it important?
When asked about the importance of having a Property Manager, flash mob dancing diva, Brittany Harlow, was very emphatic in her answer:
“There is a lot more to managing a property than putting someone in and receiving rent at the end of the week” she declared. “The rental laws are always evolving, and you must keep up with every aspect of it – all the requirements, notices and needs – as anything can impact the future of your investment.”
And Ms Harlow is not wrong! With over 700 pages of legislation and amendments only in Queensland, the self-managing landlord must be ready to learn all the many nuances of the job in order to handle any circumstance during their tenancies.
“With a great professional manager at their disposal, the property owner can rest assured that everything is looked after!”
More than a fee
According to Delgado, many property investors see the work of a manager as a dispensable expense but, when it comes to more complex cases, it is more beneficial to have a specialist handling the problem from the start – it might, in fact, prevent the whole case from happening at all!
Thorough routine inspections conducted by trained eyes can detect potential water leaks, start of mould in poorly ventilated spaces and other kinds of damage or hazards for the occupant. The early detection of a problem can sometimes save the landlord thousands of dollars.
Understanding legislation requirements will prevent a lack of compliance (smoke alarms, property standards etc), unlawful entries and unnecessary breaches – all of which can result in unnecessary costs or fines.
Surrounded by her ensemble, Daphne left us with a piece of her wisdom: “Anyone can choreograph your flash mob, but you should probably hire someone who can dance.”
After yet another successful educative performance and answering all the investors’ queries, the group of dancing Property Managers cha-cha’d out the pavilion to return the hundreds of calls missed in those thirty minutes.
At Odyssey Property Concierge, our highly experienced team works with smaller portfolios per agent, allowing our Property Managers to dedicate more time resolving such problems.
