Monday, 10th of August 2020
If you are a property investor, you will understand the associated complexities and challenges of managing a portfolio to ensure you generate the absolute best returns from your asset. Since time is money, and landlords are often pushed for time, one of the most effective ways to manage your asset is to engage an agency for their assistance, expertise and established property management service offering.
Most investors will already have their property being managed by an agency, however with the growing number of options comes the risk of drastically differing levels of property management service - an inherent issue within the property industry.
Bigger Isn’t Always Better
We’ve all heard of the expression “quality over quantity” and this most definitely applies to property management service. The size and/or reputation of an agency was previously one of the most important factors when selecting an agency to manage your prized asset, however, there is now an ever-present shift of investors choosing specialised, boutique agencies over larger ones due to a host of advantages.
We explore some of these advantages below, alongside the common pain points felt by landlords, and the potential benefits available to them if they make the switch to a specialised property management agency.
Common Frustrations Experienced at Larger Agencies
Whilst landlords will always demand the highest level of property management service from their agency in order to guarantee value from their investment, these service levels aren’t always experienced when working with larger agencies who focus on everything (sales, strata, commercial and residential) and manage extensive portfolios.
Trying to Do Everything
Agencies who try to be a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ often don’t do any one thing amazingly. As a property investor, you deserve full focus and attention on maximising your rental returns. This takes focus and attention to detail. Trusting a company who specialises in property management will ensure you get professional and specialised service backed by experience and expert knowledge.
Directors Not Experts in Property Management
If the owner and Principal of the business is an expert in property management, you will have the piece-of-mind that decisions will made to positively benefit your investment property. Some agencies offer property management to capitalise on an additional revenue source, whilst others have built a business specialising in it. The former would result in mediocre service whilst the latter usually translates to an obsession for providing the very best possible property management service.
Poor Customer Service Levels
Working with a larger agency can mean your property is just one of many, which can result in you feeling as though you are lost in the crowd. Even though you will be told at sign up that you’re a priority – with so many other properties on the books, are you really a priority?
It is also not uncommon for investors to have to chase up property managers at larger agencies (instead of the other way around) leaving landlords feeling unsupported and undervalued and with less than favourable results.
If this sounds familiar, we cover off some useful tips to follow if you’re falling out of love with your Property Management agency.
A Lack of Responsiveness
With more clients on the books to manage, larger agencies can suffer from slow, unresponsive communication levels which results in their clients suffering from minimal property management service levels.
Being proactive and having a finger on the pulse is essential for investors, which is why we explore Why A Responsive Property Investment Agency Is Paramount In Perth in one of our recent articles.
High Staff Turnover
Another common frustration experienced with larger agencies is their tendency to have a higher attrition rates than smaller companies, meaning staff turnover is more frequent. There is nothing worse than constantly seeing that your property manager has changed, as landlords will always prefer working with someone who has a deep knowledge of their property, whilst also understanding how best to work with them.
Inflexible Structure
Larger property management agencies often have a stringent structure of how to manage their portfolio, which may be great for their internal efficiencies, but may also translate poorly into lost opportunity for investors and landlords.
Being less flexible around owner rental payments, meeting times, inspection appointments, and agency fees can create an unhealthy level of frustration from an investor who may have specific requirements around cash flow and their busy working schedule. Tailoring our service to meet the needs of the investment if critical to a great relationship and maximising the returns of investors.
These are just some of the reasons why landlords and owners can struggle to find adequate service levels in larger agencies.
Why Does This Matter?
Put simply, your property is too valuable to leave in incapable hands. Investors are busy people, which is precisely the reason agencies are employed to manage assets with minimal disruption to landlord and owners.
Whilst some level of communication is always required, the most efficient agencies will only ever bother owners when necessary, using their autonomy, expertise and training to do what is always in the best interest of the owner. The more owners who demand this level of customer service, the harder it is to sustain, leaving a notable benefit to smaller agencies who can provide stellar property management service.
Introducing the ‘PPM Difference’
Perth Property Management (PPM) was established to provide a specialist property management ONLY service to astute investors who valued their most important resource: time. By taking the stress out of the management of their investment property, and ensuring cash flow is maximised, investors have the time to focus on whatever it is they value most.
As a specialised property management agency, the PPM team deliver exceptional levels of service for our investors, landlords and tenants. We pride ourselves on our attention to detail and willingness to go the extra mile for our clients, which has allowed us to establish unique points of difference in our industry.
After all, there is a reason why we were awarded WA’s leading property management agency at the 2019 REIWA Excellence Awards, alongside our Director Kristy who was named the 2019 Property Manager of The Year. You can check out the full article here.
Some of the other reasons which separate our service levels from our competitors include the following:
- We are a property management ONLY agency. Meaning we focus all our energy on maximising your rental returns and implementing strategies to lower your investment risk.
- Our property managers are capped at 100 properties to ensure you always receive personalised service from our dedicated team.
- We provide regular e-communications to help keep investors in the loop with property updates, market trends and advice around their property investment.
- We consistently go above and beyond to get the very best out of your investment property, helping to deliver modern and innovative strategies which benefit YOU.
- Our Director (Kristy) is personally involved in overseeing the management of YOUR property. This ensures you receive our award-winning service at all times. You can find out more about Kristy’s involvement in our recent blog Meet Kristy – The Face Behind Your Property.
There are a host of additional reasons which create the PPM difference, which translates into real results for our clients.
It’s Time to Make the Switch
Are you the owner of an investment property which is being managed elsewhere with less than favourable property management service levels?
Making the switch is easier than you might think!
If you want to work with WA's leading agency, we welcome you to contact us to experience award-winning service from our team of friendly, helpful and experienced property managers.
