Hi everyone, the strata has just started invoicing me (the landlord) the gas usage every two months for my investment apartment. Have passed the invoices to my property manager to get reimbursed from the tenant, however it still hasnt been paid. Called the property manager a month later to check whats happening, says she ‘will sort it out’. Emailed her a week after to find out the situation and no response. Not really sure where to go from here now?!
Cheers, Ryan
what state check ehether you can pass it on if the flat is not separately metered
in WA. Have checked with the strata and they cant send a copy of the bill to the tenant. It has to come to me unfortunately.
What does your lease say about how the payment for gas by the tenant is calculated
just checked the lease. It states the tenant must pay for the gas.
In my book ‘no reply from the PM’ is unacceptable. I would put her on notice and if doesn’t sort it out promptly, I would replace her. By the time the tenant will finally get the gas bill notice, they might request to pay it in instalments (if it’s a big bill in arrears) which I would agree to due to the special circumstances.
Ethan Timor | Aligned Finance Pty Ltd
http://www.alignedfinance.com.au/
Email Me | Phone MeActive Investor & Broker; Based in Northern NSW, servicing Australia wide; Author of '34 Proven Ways to Maximise Your Borrowing Power' (download free from our website)
In my book ‘no reply from the PM’ is unacceptable. I would put her on notice and if doesn’t sort it out promptly, I would replace her.
Agree Ethan, we pay good money for PM…..they work for us not the other way around.
I find all these property managers to be as bad as each other, especially if they work for one of the big real estate firms – once you hand over the signed agreement and they get their commission, they are reluctant to do anything.
Does anyone know of any family run business around perth with good reputation as property managers?Hi CS,
I can’t help with recommendations re Perth-based property managers, but just wanted to run a few thoughts by you:-
Call around the RE “names” and even smaller agents if there are any – we have “local RE agents” who run little local RE shops.
1. Ask about the size of their rent roll, and number of Rental staff. If two staff are looking after 500 rentals, they are stretched way too thin. One person can look after 100 to 150 quite well IMHO, depending on their experience (a learner won’t work as efficiently as a senior).
2. Ask about the management rate they charge – $age of rental per week (lower is not necessarily better). Usual rates vary but can be from 6% to 9%. Consider that 9% of a $200 a week rental is way lower than 6% of a $500 a week rental.
3. Check out other parameters – cost to find a new tenant (often 2 weeks rent), how many inspections per year, do they pay the bills for you, do they arrange tradies for repairs (careful with that one, but get the info anyway), etc
4. Ask how they handle “out of the norm” situations – emergency repairs, bad tenants, rent late, etc
At the end of it, a bit of thought and comparison between the “players” could have one of them showing as standouts !!
Good luck,
Benny
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
