Choosing a property manager is an important process because you are trusting someone else to take care of what may be the largest investment you’ll ever make. That’s why you need be confident that they can handle the job properly. Of course, they must be dependable and trustworthy. Here are some other things to consider to help you understand how to choose a property manager.
Communication
With all the people involved, such as the owner, the tenants, and the manager, communication is key. Some owners like to receive regular updates while others are happy with a select few. No matter how much communication you desire, it’s important you get high-quality communication. Your property manager needs to be available and respond readily. Think about their speed, courtesy, and availability as soon as you make the first contact with a potential manager.
Residents
The property manager has two key duties as far as renters are concerned; finding high-quality residents and ensuring they are treated well. A happy renter will stay around for longer and be more reasonable if something goes wrong. Whereas bad tenants are some of the most expensive mistakes you can make. It can be costly to evict someone, especially if you have to miss out on a lot of rent, and it can also be expensive to repair and clean up the damage left behind. The property manager must be willing to perform background checks on tenants and choose good ones.
Fees
Property management fees are generally fairly standard – typically coming in at between 7 and 15% of a months’ rent. 10% is considered the standard. Sometimes you could be paying less for a condo than a house because the home and yard are smaller. The owner is the one footing the bill for maintenance costs and often has to pay a finder or leasing fee, which could be worth a full month of rent when new residents move in. Find out if you’re going to be charged, even in the event the unit is empty. Some managers will sometimes charge additional fees, so find out how much you can expect to be paying before hiring a property manager.
House Visits
Your property manager should be proactive about inspecting your property, inspecting it at least once or twice a year to ensure everything runs smoothly. These are time-consuming tasks so a property manager needs to have a reasonable caseload. Hiring one that is managing too many properties removes the personal touch. Find one that has the time to give your property the attention it needs.
Earning Potential
Property managers need to get the absolute most out of your property. This involves properly marketing the unit to reduce vacancies. This can involve posting the property on rental websites and taking great photos to show it off. Property managers must also keep up with market rent rates and adjust rents accordingly. You wouldn’t want to be charging too little and not earning what you should for the property.
You might have heard a few people say they really want to become a successful Real Estate and property developer but are not sure if they have what it takes. So here’s some info that might be of help in letting you achieve your aim of being a real estate developer.
Lots of studies have concluded that each one of us has a wealth plan. From our earliest moments, our opinions towards money are accustomed by the sources around us like our friends, relatives, teachers, classmates, parents and the media. This programming in due course influences the accumulation of our wealth.
We discovered that part of creating a ‘Developer’s Mindset’ means that we need first to remove any obstructions that could prevent us from achieving our true potential. These obstructions can be physical (maybe a real injury), emotional (being rejected or judged), mental (not having the language skills) or spiritual (taking some teachings to their limit). Whatever type it is, these obstructions can be like a big rock in front of you that hinder your forward progress.
Many people have tried Real Estate and Property Development in the past though not all of them have been successful. Some have failed miserably just because they didn’t have the right mindset to start with. This step shouldn’t be overlooked as getting our mindset right is the underlying fundamental important element to our success.
Jim Rohn, a renowned American business philosopher, once said that the most important part of becoming a millionaire is that person that you have to become to accumulate millions in the first place. Likewise, many financial advisors will say that the first million is extremely difficult to obtain, but the second million is almost certain.
You will have to develop a different mindset and also different habits from the average person if you wish to become a successful real estate and property developer. By becoming this kind of individual, you also become the kind of person who can now earn the second and also the third million. If you happen to lose all of your money, you would be able to recover it all back again because you have become that kind of person who can now make a million. Fundamentally, by adopting the habits of the Rich and also the mindset of successful real estate and property developers, you can also become one.
Remember that your success lies in your mindset. It all begins with the quality of your thoughts. If you have negative thoughts, you will have negative results, and if you have positive thoughts, you will have positive results. You must first believe that you have the ability to create productive and profitable developments before it can happen.
Auckland Property Developer Tim Manning is leading an Asian syndicate backing Fiji’s ambitious $US200 million casino project.
NBR first linked Mr Manning and Singapore based Nico-Franken, to the project in June. Mr Manning confirms the deal this week, which sees his company HGW International take a 50% stake in the casino developer One Hundred Sands and Mr Manning and Norwich Properties general manager Brad Worthington join the board.
The Casino Project involves two sites – near Nadi and Suva – with the former site featuring 250 slot machines, 40 tables, a 1500 seat convention centre, a Hotel with up to 600 rooms, bars and restaurants.
A development site near Denarau Island should be confirmed next month. “We’ll be building in the first quarter of next year quite easily.” he says.
Mr Manning will not say where his syndicate investors are based, or how many there are, and is coy about his own financial involvement in the project.
He’s confident a deal can be struck with Fiji’s government over $US100,000 monthly penalty payments.”
Why do Westerners fear or show disrespect for China when
• it has produced the biggest movement of people out of poverty in world history,
• has done more to provide an economic base for Africa than decades of Western aid have been able to achieve,
• has grown over 40% since the global financial crisis while Western economies have struggled,
• has delivered trillions of dollars in cheap goods to Western consumers, and
• when China’s history for five millennia is one of physical containment as a near land-locked civilisation, which professes itself as having a “peaceful rise” advocating non-interference in other states?
There are many reasons, some valid, some not justified, and all good topics for debate. This document runs through 55 of those reasons in no particular order of importance apart from the first item. Research for this list started in September 2012 and although there will be factors relevant to the discussion which are not mentioned here, eventually a cut-off date had to be selected. The material comes from a wide variety of sources – mainly day to day media rather than academic publications.
The author Tony Alexander is Chief Economist at the Bank of New Zealand, is based in Wellington New
Zealand, and can be contacted at this email address tony.alexander@bnz.co.nz
As noted, the 55 factors are presented in no particular order of importance, apart from the first. And it should be noted that one could undertake a similar exercise for every other country, including New Zealand.
Facelessness
We do not know how mainland Chinese live and what they think. In the West people do not know the Chinese well enough to be able to see them in the same family, living, social situations facing the same joys, delights, problems, and procedures that we experience. We do not know what the inside of a low, middle or upper income Chinese house or apartment looks like. We do not know at what time schools start and finish, how long people spend in university, what the national sports are which children might play after school, how hard it is to get a job etc.
This is a problem because plentiful scope exists for imagining the worst about the Chinese, their values, their lifestyles, and their actions.
The same applies to Chinese leaders. Traditionally Chinese politicians have been remote from their people, communicating in written form and engaging neither in communication through oratory nor familiarisation through participation in typical family activities (attending a baseball game, watching netball and rugby) – though domestically efforts were made to portray previous Premier Wu as grandfatherly. The new Premier has started a Twitter-like account.
We cannot form an opinion as to the honesty and integrity of Chinese leaders which is very problematic because we continually judge and have systems in place to facilitate the judging of those who lead us in the West. Our system of rule is based around continual monitoring of those to whom we give power.
Written by Tony Alexander, Chief Economist of the Bank of New Zealand.